By Jorgen Hansen
Best friends, melancholy philosophers, and true (and not so true) love can be found in As You Like It, by William Shakespeare at the Mesa Arts Center in downtown Mesa, Arizona. Written in 1599, one might think that this “antique” show no longer held any weight with our “modern” sensibilities, but the Southwest Shakespeare Company’s performance proves that though the setting is pastoral and the language… well, Shakespearean… the deep questions and amusing interactions frequently posed throughout still provoke contemplation and mirth.
As You Like It begins in the court of Duke Frederick (Beau Heckman), who rules with an iron fist after recently deposing his sister, the Duchess Senior (Megan Lindsay). In his court, Rosalind (Betsy Mugavero), the daughter of the deposed Duchess, has been allowed to stay, due to her great friendship with Celia (Racquel McKenzie), the Duke’s daughter. I loved the interaction between Mugavero and McKenzie, and I bought into their character’s deep friendship in seconds. Orlando (Phillip Herrington), a noble young man seeking his way in the world, comes to the court of Duke Frederick to compete in a contest of strength against the duke’s champion, Charles (Dalton T. Davis), and promptly falls in love with the lovely Rosalind. After an impressive fight scene (choreographed by Keath Hall), Orlando causes a major upset by beating the duke’s champion and is banished from court. As he returns to his home, his old, faithful servant, Adam (Jim Coates), tells him of his hateful brother, Oliver’s (Drew Leatham), plan to kill him, and they escape to the forest of Arden.
The Duke, fearing traitors in his midst, exiles Rosalind from court, and Celia voluntarily exiles herself as well. They also flee to the forest of Arden, dragging along the court jester, Touchstone (Jeff Deglow), who perfectly plays a hilarious fool, and speaks more wisdom than one might expect. Rosalind decides to dress as a young man named Ganymede and Celia as a poor woman named Aliena to attract less attention and danger. I particularly enjoyed the witty social commentary on men and women’s roles created by this situation.
In the Forest of Arden, they come across the Duchess, who has, in a way, set up a pastoral court, with some lords that left court to follow her, as well as some shepherds that round out the motley crew. Things in the forest are clearly not as fine as those in the court, but the freedom of the forest gives an enjoyment they never had, and they are content. Jaques (Kyle Sorrell), one of these lords, has taken to melancholy philosophizing, drawing sadness and pathos from every enjoyable thing. Sorrell does an excellent job evoking the deep emotion rooted in the famous “All the world’s a stage” monologue. This was my first time experiencing this monologue in a live performance, and I was riveted through the entire performance.
Orlando and Adam soon encounter the Duchess and her people, and soon begin to live with them. Orlando is still head over heels for Rosalind, and spends his days wandering the forest, carving love poems on trees about her. Still in disguise, Rosalind and Celia come across these poems and manage to meet Orlando, whom Rosalind (disguised as Ganymede) promises to cure him of his love by having him pretend she is Rosalind. Though Rosalind professes to be able to help Orlando stop his passionate love, she has a lot harder time curing Phoebe (Breona Conrad), a shepherdess, of her love for Ganymede. Phoebe is pursued by Silvius (Seth Scott), a shepherd who loves her completely, but she doesn’t love him in the slightest. Conrad and Scott have a great rapport with each other, and they delightfully complete the love triangle. Ganymede promises to solve this whole debacle by having Orlando promise to marry Rosalind, and Phoebe to promise to marry Silvius if she can’t marry Ganymede.
During all this time, Touchstone is wooing Audrey (Kelly Nicole), a simple-minded country girl. The performance by Nicole is excessively sweet and girlish, just how you would imagine a naive teen girl would be. Orlando’s brother, Oliver, (you forgot about him, didn’t you?) comes to the forest to find and kill his brother by order of the Duke. As he searches, he is wounded, and is rescued by Orlando, changing Oliver’s hateful disposition toward him. As Oliver comes to know the others in the forest, he and Aliena hit it off, and they soon make plans to be wed.
In the final scene, the old Duke makes a surprise appearance at the quadruple wedding headed by the exiled Duchess, and tells the whole assembly of his coming here with the intention to destroy the Duchess once and for all. However, a chance meeting with a religious man on the road so convinced him of his wrong doing that he gave up the crown and returned it to his sister, the Duchess. So, in a very Gilbert and Sullivan-like fashion, practically everyone ends up married, all wrongs are righted, and then there was an impressive song and dance number to close out the show.
There are some surprises in this performance, the most notable of which is the live music for the songs, performed at various intervals throughout, accompanied by acoustic guitar and percussion played onstage by the actors themselves. There are fun moments of audience interaction (I suggest sitting in the first two rows on either end if you’re interested). None of the actors use microphones for their spoken lines, but for the songs, certain cast members have wireless microphones. This slightly impeded my ability to clearly hear each actor and actress, but clarity more depended on which actor was speaking.
Now, about Mugavero, who plays the part of Rosalind: she plays the part of an intelligent, witty heroine with such ease, I had no qualms with believing her to be Rosalind. As she plays Ganymede, I enjoyed seeing her toy with Herrington, and chuckled every time she got close to him and felt the tension between them. Herrington as Orlando helped me feel like I was maybe a little bit better at talking to women than he, after seeing his first and second failures to say something, anything to Rosalind. I enjoyed seeing his love deepen for Rosalind as Ganymede was helping him to get rid of it. He plays a lovable hero who starts with a bit of a dark side and changes through his love for a good woman.
McKenzie finds the way Celia would balance Rosalind as her best friend. Supportive and strong, she keeps Rosalind from going completely head over heels for Orlando in a way that makes you love her and laugh. Coates, a veteran Shakespeare actor, does not disappoint with his portrayal of Adam and also Corin, a shepherd in the show. Easily recognizable with his impressive beard, his unique mannerisms and his excellent portrayal of these characters, even when not speaking, was thoroughly enjoyable to watch.
Conrad as Phoebe is energetic and sassy. I loved her scene with Silvius where she rejects him repeatedly, this left the audience laughing on multiple occasions. She also is the Movement Choreographer and leads the excellent dance number at the end. Scott works well with her, showing how dedicated Silvius is without becoming stale or repetitive.
Deglow is, in a word, hilarious, as Touchstone. His affected manner of speaking had the audience laughing on his first line, and he won the night for most laughter. He is composed, witty, and performs with an alacrity I thoroughly enjoyed. He is over-the-top, which is exactly the kind of performance you would want for a Touchstone-like character.
Heckman as the Duke is an imposing sight. Even though he does not measure up, height-wise, to some of the other courtiers, he emanates power onstage and a barely bridled fury. Lindsay makes the Duchess feel relaxed but still in charge (and a whole lot more likeable than the Duke), and the difference between the ways Heckman and Lindsay portray their characters creates a good contrast between their character’s leadership styles.
Quinn Mattfeld directed this show, whose ability and prowess were clearly evident in how well the show was organized and how smoothly every scene ran. Wireless microphones, which are notorious for being fickle, work surprisingly well, thanks to Sound Design by Peter Bish. I paid attention to the lighting by Drake Dole and I appreciated the detailed light control that create vignettes that drew the audience’s attention to a certain part of the stage and creating tension while doing so. I loved how the scenery by Patrick Walsh still evokes Shakespearean times, but the scene changes happen so gradually over time that if you aren’t paying attention, you will miss the new vines that just happened to appear on the wall. Angela Kabasan-Gonzalez, Costume Design, kept things in a modern style, and made some excellent wardrobe choices, especially with Silvius.
I absolutely enjoyed Southwest Shakespeare Company’s As You Like It at the Mesa Arts Center–it has a great cast of performers who make Shakespeare understandable and relevant. Like most Shakespeare plays, teenagers and above are likely to enjoy the show, while younger audiences will likely not understand. The surprises in the show, like the audience participation and the live music kept things upbeat. Definitely worth the watch—come see this and enjoy.
Southwest Shakespeare Company presents As You Like It by William Shakespeare.
Mesa Arts Center, One East Main Street, Mesa, AZ, 85201
Feb. 23-24, Mar. 1-2, Mar. 8-9, 2019, Fri 7:30 PM, Sat matinee 2:00 PM
Tickets: $25 & $35; Educators and 25 and under with ID $13
Contact: 480 644 6500
Southwest Shakespeare Company Facebook Page
Mesa Arts Center Facebook Page
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