The Pittsburg Public Theater Presents As You Like It

Event Coverage:  As You Like It

By: William Shakespeare

Presented by: Ted Pappas and the Pittsburgh Public Theater

From January 19 through February 19, As You Like It, often hailed as “the triumph of Shakespearean romantic comedy”, played at the O’Reilly Theater in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The play, presented by director Ted Pappas and the Pittsburgh Public Theater, offers a unique spin on one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated comedies. In this slightly retooled rendition of the classic play, Pappas brought in acclaimed composer Michael Moricz, “an exceptional artist who has created a brand new score for our version of As You Like It “. (Ted Pappas)  Composer Moricz is no stranger to The Pittsburgh Public Theater, having produced original scores for other Public Theater productions which include Romeo and Juliet and Mary Stuart.  Moricz has adapted this Shakespearean romantic comedy into a musical performance, with the intention to “open up this wonderful comedy to a new set of ears”. (Michael Moricz)

We arrived at the box office at 7:00 p.m.. February 14. With Valentine’s Day traffic clogging the street and making parking an interesting endeavor, my group was slightly late for seating. I gave the usher my name, he handed me our tickets and we were quickly ushered up through the fluorescent lit, green carpeted hallways and stairwells to our balcony seating, green chairs, sitting at the edge of the balcony. The theater is nothing like the bleak office building that we travelled through as a short-cut to our seats. It is a large auditorium with black walls and high ceilings, white acoustic paneling hanging from the walls with stage lighting and a catwalk above. The theater is very modern, with stadium seating wrapping around three sides of the stage. There are two levels of balconies garnishing the empty walls. The orchestra pit, hidden behind the low set stage, allowed the performers to walk down a few steps to the hardwood floor of the front row, and  directly up to the audience making the experience all the more intimate. 

The lights began to dim and the curtain was drawn back as spotlights from above focused on a white wall, with a series of three white doors with ebony doorknobs. The timpani boomed loudly as the center door of the stage slowly opened displaying a tall, broad shouldered figure cloaked in shadow.  Orlando, the main character, played by Christian Conn, is a young man of the kingdom who has fallen in love at first sight with Rosalind. In a brief monologue he tells the audience of his love, Rosalind, played by Gretchen Egolf.  Rosalind’s father, the Duke Senior, played by Ross Bickell, has been exiled from the Duchy by his younger brother The Duke Frederick, also played by Bickell. Rosalind is permitted to stay within the court because of her close friendship to her cousin Celia, (played by Julia Coffey), the daughter of the Duke Frederick.  However, she is soon banished by The Duke Frederick for confessing her love to Orlando, who has meanwhile been ostracized from the kingdom due to a disagreement with his brother Oliver (played by David Whalen). Celia and Rosalind, then decide to run away together to the Forest of Arden with the Jester of Touchstone (played by Douglas Harmsen). Celia is disguised as the poor maid Aliena, and Rosalind is disguised as Aliena’s brother and protector, Ganymede. 

Orlando, who was banished to the forest, stumbles upon the melancholy Jacques (played by Anderson Matthews), who Orlando finds weeping over the carcass of a slain deer. He takes Orlando to meet the exiled Duke Senior, who takes him in. Orlando proceeds to litter the forest with love letters and sonnets devoted to Rosalind. Rosalind and Celia purchase a parcel of land where they soon discover Orlando living with the exiled Duke. Comedy ensues as Rosalind, pretending to be Ganymede, offers to counsel Orlando and cure him of his love by pretending to be Rosalind “himself” and acting out their relationship. Throughout this mess of love and deception the Jester of Touchstone falls in love with a poor, dimwitted shepherdess, Audrey (played by Lisa Ann Goldsmith). Phoebe, a naïve shepherdess (played by Theo Allyn) falls in love instantly with Ganymede (Rosalind).  Orlando comes across his brother, pinned down by a lioness in the forest and saves him. Oliver then lifts the shame on his brother’s head, allowing him back into the kingdom. Orlando takes his brother to rest at the house of Aliena and Ganymede, (actually Celia and Rosalind).  Oliver falls instantly in love with Celia. Rosalind then admits her deception to Orlando to avoid the affections of Phoebe, who is tricked into marrying Sylvius, an impoverished shepherd (played by Chris Landis), in a mass wedding. Phoebe is married to Sylvius, Rosalind to Orlando, Celia to Oliver, and the Jester of Touchstone to Audrey. At the end of the ceremony it is discovered that the Duke Frederick lifts his banishment of his brother the rightful Duke, and renounces his public office in trade for a poised religious life, and all return to the court Duchy, except for the melancholy Jacques, who remains in the forest to lead a religious life with the Duke Frederick. 

The performers where spectacular! All players were expertly trained from Julliard to Pittsburgh’s own Institute for the Arts. The actors and actresses expertly brought to life the almost 400 year old play, with only subtle changes to adapt to the changing ages, showcasing the timeless nature of the great William Shakespeare’s many masterpieces. Most entertaining and unique to the Elizabethan era playwright is “the fact that both the dukes are played by one performer, in perfect paradoxical Shakespearian symmetry!” (Margie Romero).  Paradoxical symmetry is a theatrical device created by William Shakespeare, and is often preserved in modern renditions of his work. 

At the conclusion of the play, following Rosalind’s ending monologue addressing the beautiful complicity of love and life, the players took a final bow, and the crowd’s roaring ovation subsided. Members of the cast and crew, along with the audience, gathered in the large glass walled entrance hall of the theater for after show congratulations, commendations and refreshments. The Valentine’s Day traffic was subsiding and the restaurants were closing as we made our way through the damp streets back to our cars, amused by the appropriateness of the presentation of such a play on the specific day of February the 14^th. Unfortunately, As You Like it was presented for a limited time, and has since been replaced on the theater’s marquis. You can see various members of the cast performing at the O’Reilly Theater in upcoming productions of Electra, Red, and The Second City: Laugh Out Loud. 

Aric Wilkinson