Writers’ ‘As You Like It’ a pleasant introduction to well-loved Shakespeare confection
“As You Like It” — 3 stars
Decades ago, I interviewed celebrated tenor saxophonist Von Freeman between sets at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago. It was the smooth jazz era and Freeman, of the post-bop school, was a traditionalist.
I asked the godfather of Chicago jazz what he thought of “lite” jazz. He replied that while it wasn’t the kind of music he played, if it got people into concert halls and clubs where they could experience the vast richness of America’s original art form, it served a purpose.
The same can be said of the musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “As You Like It” — running through Dec. 14 at Writers Theatre — that may do for Shakespeare comedies what crossover did for classic jazz.
Adapted by composer/lyricist Shaina Taub and writer Laurie Woolery, this merry tuner about love (in its various incarnations) and authenticity (living one’s truth) doesn’t necessarily quote all of Shakespeare’s dialogue in its entirety. Taub and Woolery shave lines here and there, but retain enough of the text to make folks feel good about themselves.
Case in point, only about half the “Seven Ages of Man” monologue made it into the show, an omission that will no doubt frustrate some purists. Instead, the speech is re-imagined as “All the World’s a Stage,” a hummable tune that lingered with me for days. Introduced as a prologue and reprised throughout the show, the song describes people playing parts hiding behind costumes, trying to make magic real.
Taub’s contemporary lyrics and pop-infused tunes seasoned with country, Caribbean and boy band-style R&B make for a pleasant, safe score. Combined with a frothy plot centered on the romantic pursuits of exiled nobles and local rustics living in the bucolic Arden Forest, it makes for a most accessible show.
Just as Janus Theatre’s recent streamlined “The Merchant of Venice” served as an introduction to that problematic play, Taub and Woolery’s musical serves as an introduction to the confection that is “As You Like It.”
For aficionados, this celebration (and send-up) of romantic love broadens the scope to include same-sex couples, which First Folio Theatre did so effectively in its gender-conscious, female-empowering 2017 production.
Directed by Braden Abraham (who leans in to the role-playing theme that animates the show), Writers’ genial production unfolds in 1920s Chicago, where mobster Duke Frederick (Scott Aiello) has usurped his benevolent older brother Duke Senior (Paul Oakley Stovall) and banished him to the Arden Forest.
Soon after, Frederick sends Senior’s daughter Rosalind (Phoebe Gonzalez, a strong singer/actor) packing. Disguised as a boy named Ganymede (who resembles Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp), Rosalind departs accompanied by her loyal cousin Celia (Andrea San Miguel) and the snarky sage Touchstone (Jackson Evans).
The action shifts from a claustrophobic speakeasy to the wide-open Arden (the pretty autumnal set is by Sara Ryung Clement and Jacelyn Stewart), where Senior has taken refuge with his loyal subjects. Among them is Jaques (Matthew C. Yee). Typically portrayed as a melancholy cynic, Yee plays the naysayer with a bemused detachment bordering on affection well-suited to Abraham’s sunny staging.
Rosalind/Ganymede and friends encounter Orlando (Benjamin Mathew), who is fleeing his inexplicably hostile brother Oliver (Anand Nagraj). After Orlando confesses his love for Rosalind, who he met briefly at court, the woman herself — still incognito — offers him pointers on wooing his beloved.
Other romantic escapades involve lovesick shepherdess Sylvia (Grace Steckler) pining for the disdainful Phoebe (Dakota Hughes), who fancies Ganymede. Meanwhile, Touchstone pursues the guileless Andy (Jeff Rodriguez).
Some of the best songs belong to Gonzalez’s clear-eyed Rosalind, who warns Orlando the ideal woman does not exist in “When I’m Your Wife.” Better still is Act II’s “Roz’s Turn.” A tip-of-the-hat to “Gypsy’s” “Rose’s Turn,” it’s less confident than Mama Rose’s anthem, suggesting Rosalind’s hesitation taking on the role of wife.
Mathew earned laughs performing the coy “Will U Be My Bride?” in which Orlando compares his love for Rosalind to a hamburger. “You Phoebe Me” features the impressive trio of Gonzalez, Steckler and Hughes. Another beautifully lyrical trio features Stovall accompanied by actor/instrumentalists Elisa Carlson and Matt Edmonds. Then there’s the lovely finale “Still I Will Love,” a lilting ode in 6/8 time exalting enduring love and lifetime commitment for better or for worse, in sickness and in health.
Purists may quibble over Taub and Woolery’s adaptation. Some already have. I myself miss some of the excised dialogue. But as an introduction to Shakespeare’s comedy, “As You Like It” has merit. The writing has wit. The songs are prettily sung. And goodwill animates Writers’ production, which — while not to everyone’s liking — is a sweet treat nonetheless.
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Location: Writers Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe, (847) 242-6000, writerstheatre.org
Showtimes: 2 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 14
Tickets: $35-$115
Running time: About 2 hours, 15 minutes, with intermission
Parking: On the street
Rating: For most audiences, teens and older