News Staff Reporter
After months of hard work and dedication, Choate performers put on “As You Like It” last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. “As You Like It” is one of Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedies and is filled with swashbuckling fight scenes, cross-dressing, and chaotic love. The basic plot is that Duke Senior has been banished by his (in Choate’s version, Duke Senior was female) brother, Duke Frederick, and is living happily in the Forest of Arden. Duke Frederick goes on to banish Rosalind, Duke Senior’s daughter, who is followed by her loving cousin, Celia, into the Forest. Before they leave, however, Rosalind falls in love with a young noble named Orlando, who later escapes to the Forest himself to avoid death by his brother Oliver, who chases after him. Rosalind and Celia disguise themselves as shepherds and they all end up lovesick in the forest. The play concludes with a joyous reconciliation of the various fighting families and a few interesting marriages. Though Choate’s performers did use the original Shakespearean text, the play was not set in Elizabethan times. Instead, director Tracy Ginder-Delventhal decided to set the comedy in 1910, amidst the Suffragette Movement. Ms. Ginder-Delventhal said that setting the play during the time period when Shakespeare penned it can often “disconnect the audience.” She chose to set “As You Like It” during the Suffragette Movement because this play is about the “empowerment of women” and deals with gender issues. Since the players still used the original text, they worked with Choate faculty member Mr. David Loeb to better understand the meaning of their lines. Despite the added difficulty that comes with performing a four-hundred-year-old play, cast members seemed to love the experience. Lisa Viccione ‘07, who played Jaques, described the process of getting ready for this play as being ”life-changing and intricate.” The overall reaction among performers was that all of their effort was definitely worth it in the end and they felt the actual performance went extremely well. It was apparent from the fits of laughter at antics such as Chris Danner ‘06 prancing about in a dress as Touchstone the clown and the standing ovation the cast received that audience members also savored the production. Everyone marveled at the talent of the cast and witty banter present in every scene. The “great set” that consisted of twenty-foot-tall trees and images of various buildings projected onto screens as well as the gorgeous costumes stunned the audience, according to fourth-former Irene Zhang ’08. Choate’s production of “As You Like It”, a play about crazed lovers, was an absolute success.
