Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994 TAG: 9402250057
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KAREN L. DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Virginia Tech's Theatre Arts-University Theatre production of "As You Like It" mixes old and new ingredients for a delightful '90s-flavored concoction of the bard's beloved pastoral comedy.
Director David Johnson preserves the play's Elizabethan language and puts his players in colorful costumes that resemble the Renaissance era.
But the set is a thoroughly modern and imaginative art deco affair with columns and pedestals that alternate as furniture in the court of Duke Frederick and as trees in the Forest of Arden.
Scene changes occur seamlessly with characters moving between the set's upper and lower levels. Lighting designer Susan M. Kelleher uses pastel-colored lighting creatively to change scenes and mood during the five acts.
Behind a curtain, the Convergence Jazz Quartet, with Dylan Locke on guitar, Jeff Pertchik on keyboards, Steve Sachse on bass and Michael Germana on drums, performs jazz arrangements of traditional melodies throughout the production.
Here again, old and new converge as Elizabethan-costumed singers walk on, microphones-in-hand, and perform with the same trained spontaneity one might expect in a jazz lounge.
The diversity of old and new emphasizes the play's timeless and contemporary qualities. The story, after all, is about the universality of love in all its aspects - romantic, platonic, carnal, paternal.
The plot centers on Rosalind's romantic interest in Orlando. Orlando, played by Mark LaPietra, is the youngest son of the late Sir Roland de Boys. His older brother, Oliver [played by John C. Cook] has inherited the estate and left only a bare subsistence for Orlando.
Orlando's rebellion at this treatment merely makes his brother more determined to be rid of him. So, when Orlando announces his intention to fight Duke Frederick's champion wrestler, Charles [played by Ned Keitt], Oliver plots to have his brother killed in the ring.
The next day, Duke Frederick [played by Charles Eric Wolfrey], his daughter, Celia [ Heather M. Simmons] and his neice, Rosalind [Kate Norris] look on as the brutish Charles takes on the lighter-weight Orlando. And Rosalind finds herself falling in love with the gallant Orlando, whose greater speed and agility give him the winning edge.
The stage combat is well-choreographed by Gregory Justice and sprinkled with comedy.
After the match, Frederick, who already has banished Rosalind's father, Duke Senior [played by Tres Matthews], accuses Rosalind of plotting against him and orders her to leave, too, on pain of death. Celia decides to go into exile with her beloved cousin. And together, they set out for the magical Forest of Arden, with Rosalind disguised for safer travel as a young man, Ganymede, and Celia disguised as a country maiden, Aliena.
Meanwhile, Orlando learns from his faithful manservant, Adam [played by Richard E. Bass] that Oliver is still plotting to kill him. So, he too, flees for safety in the Forest of Arden, where he joins Rosalind's exiled father and his band of men.
But Orlando still pines for the lovely Rosalind, whom he met at the wrestling match. He hangs sheets of love poems dedicated to her on the trees, and one day, Rosalind discovers him in the forest. Still disguised as Ganymede, she offers to cure Orlando of his love affliction by pretending to be his lady-love. The coy teasing and flirting soon will make him tire of the game, Ganymede says, and forget all about the "real" Rosalind.
Of course, the audience understands her ulterior motive. And the true comedy of the play comes through in the words, not the plot.
Unfortunately, the majority of the players are only marginally successful at delivering Shakespeare's rhythmic prose with visible emotion. Well-memorized, the lines are spoken flawlessly, by rote, and too often, they sound that way.
Thankfully, however, Norris' portrayal of Rosalind is exceptional. She vents her raw emotions with comedic gestures and stresses all of the right words for maximum effect. Although Rosalind is madly in love with Orlando, she is no weepy-eyed maiden. She is genuine and courageous, frank and funny, and Norris amply endows her character with these strong, likable traits.
The play's famous "Seven Ages of Man" (All the world's a stage . . . ) speech by Jaques is well-delivered by actor Brian Loevner with enough richness and sadness given to the words to remind us that life is not a fairy-tale.
Darryl W. Gibson is also outstanding as the court jester, Touchstone, who accompanies Rosalind and Celia to the Forest of Arden. Touchstone fills the role of a chorus in commenting on the actions and behaviors of the others, often rendering comic, homespun insights. For example, when others feign ethereal love, Touchstone humorously sports the more down-to-earth physical desires felt by ordinary folk. He, too, falls in love in the enchanted forest when he meets a homely goat-herder, Audrey [played by Halli A. Bourne] and chases off her other suitor, William [played by James Dale].
Later, Oliver's evil nature is magically transformed at the forest's edge, and he and Celia meet and fall in love at first sight. And Rosalind's alter-ego, Ganymede, accidently finds "himself" the unwilling object of a young shepherdess's affections. At this point, the complications just get funnier, until Rosalind, still disguised as Ganymede, vows to solve everybody's problems with magic.
The spirit of the play is wholesome and merry. It is an examination of love as manifested through several individuals, but it does not dabble in profound truths or stoop to sentimentalities. Rather, the tale is told for the fun and pleasure of it, as love ought to be, and as all of us would like it.
"As You Like It" continues through Feb. 26 in Squires Studio Theatre on the Virginia Tech campus. Performances are at 8 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. For reservations, call 231-5615.
by CNB