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By BOB NOCEK; Times Leader Staff Writer
Thursday, July 10, 1997 Page:
EDWARDSVILLE — Assemble a cast inexperienced with Shakespeare, from an
assortment of theater backgrounds, give them the challenge of one of the
Bard’s comedies, and what do you get?
A surprisingly well-done production of “As You Like It,” in which the
comedy and the story come through quite nicely despite the relative youth of
its cast.
Director Bruce Phair has clearly paid attention to the details, and the end
result is an enjoyable product that avoids most of the traps and delivers a
few nice surprises.
Presented by Wilkes University and the Darte Center, Phair’s auditions were
open to the public, resulting in a collection of college students, community
performers and even a pair of recent high school graduates in the leads.
They blend together seamlessly, and their ease with the language makes
Shakespeare’s words conversational, rather than the stuff of English class
textbooks.
This is often one of the greatest hurdles to overcome, as actors
intimidated by the unfamiliar language often treat the words with too much
reverence.
That’s not a problem here.
Robert Hensley is the best of them as Touchstone, a boisterous jester who
looks like Gene Shalit. Hensley is the most experienced of the cast, and it
shows. He livens the production.
In the romantic leads are Anne Rodella and Trevor Southworth, both of whom
graduated from high school last month. They handle their duties with admirable
ease, she as Rosalind and he as Orlando.
They are smitten with each other from their first meeting, after Orlando
has wrestled a much larger foe and won. But Rosalind is banished to the
forest, where she disguises herself as the male Ganymede.
There she discovers that Orlando is writing poems about her and posting
them in the forest, and she — as Ganymede — tricks Orlando into professing
his love for Rosalind to “him.”
This gives Rodella and Southworth an opportunity to work together
throughout the later acts, and they hold their own formidably, given the
weight of their roles.
Among the touches that give “As You Like It” a polished feel are some
well-choreographed fight scenes, and some little comedic dashes — a character
stopping to relieve himself in the forest on his way into the scene, for
instance.
These are the things — the details Phair has provided — that separate a
well-crafted production from a rudimentary one.
That the cast lives up to the care this show has been given is what makes
“As You Like It” so likable.
“As You Like It,” the comedy by Shakespeare, is being presented at Wilkes
University’s Ralston Field in Edwardsville through July 13. Admission is $5.
Children are free when accompanied by an adult. For more information, call
831-4540.