Review By Val O’Bryan, Front Row Reviewers
What better way to spend a summer evening than under the night sky, watching Shakespeare’s most sun-dappled comedy unfold in Utah Shakespeare Festival’s traditional Englestad Theatre? With its forest setting, playful disguises, and joyful celebration of love and freedom, As You Like It feels right at home in an outdoor theater, where nature itself becomes part of the magic. At its core, the play is about family and chosen family. The family we build, the family we keep close, and the family we are willing to forgive and embrace.
The court of Duke Frederick (Geoffrey Kent), has usurped his brother, Duke Senior (Chauncey Thomas), and banished him to the Forest of Arden. Despite this political upheaval, Duke Senior’s daughter, Rosalind (Kayland Jordan), is allowed to remain at court because of her close friendship with her cousin Celia (Kat Lee), Duke Frederick’s daughter. Jordan and Lee are delightful and play very believable close friends. They bounce dialog off one another with enthusiasm and the timing feels natural and even contemporary, making the Shakespearean language easier to understand.
Orlando (Gabriel W. Elmore), a young nobleman, expresses deep frustration over the way his older brother, Oliver (Christopher Joel Onken), has treated him. Though their father left both sons an inheritance, Oliver has denied Orlando his rightful education and upbringing, leaving him to live like a servant rather than a gentleman. Orlando vents these grievances to Adam (Chris Mixon), an old and loyal servant of the family, who sympathizes with the young man’s situation. Elmore brings strength but also humility to this role. He wins over the audience when he takes the broom from Adam so Adam can rest and he finishes his chore for him.
Paths cross when Rosalind and Celia decide to watch a wrestling match. Young and inexperienced Orlando faces reigning champion Charles (Lavour Addison), who has already seriously injured other opponents. Despite the danger and his lack of formal training, Orlando surprises everyone by defeating Charles. His unexpected victory earns the admiration of Rosalind and sparks a romantic connection between them, while also resulting in the disdain of Duke Frederick. The match was expertly choreographed by Kent and both Addison and Elmore exhibit great skill and athleticism. The audience was positively transfixed, rooting them on with gusto that even the bard would be proud of.
Duke Frederick suddenly banishes Rosalind, claiming she is a threat to the stability of his rule. Unwilling to be separated from her beloved cousin, Celia decides to run away with Rosalind into exile, bringing Touchstone (Walter Kmiec), a witty and often foolish court jester, along for fun. Facing a similar problem, Orlando finds himself targeted by his brother and also Duke Frederick, and Adam begs him to flee into the Forest of Arden. Director Beth Lopes makes a clever artistic choice in combining the flights of Orlando and Adam from Act 1, Scene 2, with Rosalind and Celia’s in Scene 3. The decision is effective, illustrating the parallels in the plights and making the timeline smoother for the audience. I especially enjoyed the symmetry and believability of Jordan’s Rosalind and Lee’s Celia have great timing and chemistry together. They feel like real best friends, the side eye responses and teasing really make it convincing.
Rosalind and Celia have disguised themselves as the brother-sister duo, Ganymede and Aliena, living in a cottage in the forest. Duke Senior and his merry band also live in the forest, including the protective attendant and musician Amiens (Blake Henri) and the melancholic traveler Jacques (Cassandra Bissell). Orlando, having escaped his brother’s ill intentions with his faithful servant Adam, also lives in the forest, spending his days expressing his love for Rosalind by pinning romantic poems to trees. Meanwhile, Rosalind, still in disguise as Ganymede, finds herself in a unique position: she can interact with Orlando without revealing her identity and decides to test the depth of his love by pretending to “cure” him of it. Touchstone flirts with a country girl named Audrey (Kathryn Tkel), bringing the comic element of courtly wit clashing with rural simplicity. The shepherds Silvius (Elijah Eliakim Hernandez) and Phoebe (Nicole Eve Goldstein) contribute to the tangle of affections and mistaken identities, especially once Rosalind/Ganymede becomes involved in their romantic complications.
In the end, the characters find love in many ways. Brothers reconcile, and romance leads to marriage. The final wedding scene is a visual and audio feast! Music (by composer Lindsay Jones) is an important addition throughout the play, and the wedding scene is no different. The couples dance to Trey Plutnicki’s choreography as Henri plays the guitar. Bill Black’s bridal whites, complemented with colorful flowers to match, shine on brides-to-be Celia and Rosalind. Apollo Mark Weaver’s grand design of the forest spring scene is delightfully organic and gorgeous. Lighting designer Shannon McKinney bathes the forest canopy in a soft, natural glow that evokes dappled sunlight while still skillfully illuminating the action on stage with clarity and focus.
As love blossoms, the Forest of Arden becomes a place of transformation for everyone. Through disguise, reflection, and unexpected reunions, the characters begin to question who they are and what they truly desire. The forest offers a space where societal roles are temporarily suspended, allowing for self-discovery, new relationships, and the possibility of reconciliation. Don’t miss your chance to fall in love with this show.
Utah Shakespeare Festival presents As You Like It, by William Shakespeare.
Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre, 351 W Center Street, Cedar City, UT 84720
Plays on select dates until September 6, 2025, 8:00 PM
Tickets: $15-85
Contact: 435-586-7878 or 1-800-PLAYTIX, guestservices@bard.org
Utah Shakespeare Festival Facebook Page
Content Advisory
One of Shakespeare’s beloved light-hearted romantic comedies. It is suitable for all audiences, although some sexual puns and innuendo are present, along with themes of betrayal, exile, and gender disguise, and the display of some mild violence.
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