As You Like It
I always feel awkward when I give the premise of a
play by William Shakespeare- they’re often a little convoluted and I’m
always missing something. But here it goes: The Duke Senior is banished
to the Forest of Arden by Her (Alternative
gender casting Sherry Kefalas) villainous brother and current Duke;
Frederick (Thomas Tribolet). The rightful Duke’s daughter, Rosalind
(Gracie Balistreri) is allowed to remain because of her close friendship
with Frederick’s daughter; Celia (Natara Denga).
Meanwhile, the restless Orlando (Roland Shorter) bristles under the
dominating influence of his elder Sister, Oliver (Persis Tomingas). It
isn’t long before several characters flee or are sent to Arden where
they find adventure, opportunity, and Love.
MPC’s adaptation takes several bold choices in
presenting Shakespeare’s play- obviously, there are multiple gender
switches within the cast itself and the play is also set in a much more
“modern” period. The Forests of Arden are a computer
generated wilderness designed like Minecraft and there are multiple
references to pop culture and social media. To that end, the set is
incredibly simple and beautiful, a lush set of colors and blocks that
allow the cast to change the world to fit their needs.
Many of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches come
from this play (“All the World’s a stage”, “I saw a fool”, etc.) and are
spoken by the coarse Jaques. Matthew T. Pavellas delivers an inspired
performance with an intense stare and almost
serpentine movements. He is one part Jack Sparrow and an equal part
Toshiro Mifune’s “Yojimbo” as he moves across the stage, questions the
characters motivations, and counters their humor with morbid
churlishness. And he is brilliantly countered (Quite literally
in one scene reminiscent of the Marx Brothers) by Rosalind’s friend and
“Fool”, Touchstone. Chris McElwain brings great physical comedy and
distinct mannerisms to his performance and plays a great philosophical
counter to the serious “love” practiced by several
of the other characters. His own relationship with Audrey (Lauren Hoelscher, bold and lusty in her portrayal of the rural country girl) is
filled with suggestive innuendo and slapstick physicality.
But the primary story surrounds the play’s heroine,
Rosalind. It’s her love for Orlando and her friendship with Celia that
drives the story forward, leading her to take up a disguise as a young
boy. Shakespeare is known for his “woman in
disguise” characters, and Rosalind is among one of the best. Gracie
Balistreri kicks some serious fucking ass in her performance! It’s hard
to be eloquent when someone just knocks you on your ass and leaves you
gasping for air. That’s what she’s done in this
role and she is quickly becoming a favorite performer here on the
Central Coast.
So, yeah- this is a really great play and I enjoyed myself immensely.
BUT…
While the set, the performances, music, and story
were all really well done I did have one small stitch to the nitpicking
nagging attention to detail in the back of my brain. And this, of
course, is the “Pro-Wrestling Fight Choreography”
in one particular scene. With regard to the flow of the show, the fight
itself is well intentioned. But as a fan of pro-wrestling, this was a
situation where it feels like few involved took the time to really
consider what they were doing. There’s a reason
that people “don’t try this at home”… and with each loose tumble and
rush forward, I was honestly worried that the performers were going to
seriously hurt one another. And not in the way I should be worried. But
this is a detail that may be more particular
to me than to others.
All in all, the show is a solid 9 out of 10.
