Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

signal status listen live donate
listen live donate signal status
listen live donate signal status
  • News
    • beats
    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    • California Dream
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Music
    • genres
    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Roots
    • Eclectic
    • Videos
    • Daily Playlist
  • Programs + Podcasts
    • news
    • Morning Edition
    • All Things Considered
    • Marketplace
    • Insight
    • The View From Here
    • music
    • Acid Jazz
    • At the Opera
    • Classical Music
    • Connections
    • Excellence in Jazz
    • Hey, Listen!
    • Insight Music
    • K-ZAP on CapRadio
    • Mick Martin's Blues Party
    • Programs A-Z
    • Podcast Directory
  • Schedules
    • News
    • Music
    • ClassicalStream
    • JazzStream
    • Weekly Schedule
    • Daily Playlist
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • CapRadio Garden
    • CapRadio Reads
    • CapRadio Travels
    • Ticket Giveaways
  • Support
    • Evergreen Gift
    • One-Time Gift
    • Corporate Support / Underwriting
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Gift
    • Legacy Gift
    • Endowment Gift
    • Volunteering
    • Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • e‑Newsletter
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
  • Arts and Lifestyle
  •  

Theatre Review: As You Like It

  •  Jeff Hudson 
Tuesday, July 29, 2014 | Sacramento, CA
Listen
/
Update RequiredTo play audio, update browser or Flash plugin.
Joy Strotz / Tahoe Shakespeare Festival
 

Joy Strotz / Tahoe Shakespeare Festival

Close your eyes, and imagine music for a Shakespeare comedy. Something Elizabethan might seem in order, right?

Actually, Shakespeare rarely set his comedies in England. He preferred exotic lands, where young travelers learn about themselves, and find love.

In Tahoe Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” the music is brassy and syncopated.

That’s right, director Edward Morgan picks the Jazz Age. The show opens in an industrial city, with clanking factories. Workers covered in soot attend a rowdy wrestling match. The champ has been bribed by a crooked Duke, who wants him to snap the neck of Orlando, a young noble whom the Duke fears.

Yes, they rigged these things, even in Shakespeare’s time. But Orlando survives this intended rubout. He skips town and hides in a forest. And in a flash, everything changes.

0728JH_TSHAKES-EM1

Singing birds. Venison and vino. Voluptuous farm maidens. Urban corruption and political paranoia evaporate – and the play is taken over by giddy young lovers, behaving foolishly. Orlando is one of them: he places scribbled love notes on trees, praising his dream girl Rosalind. Folks get annoyed, and one of them lampoons Orlando’s purple verse.

Touchstone: “Sweetest nut hath sourest rind; Such a nut is Rosalind. He that sweetest rose will find, Must find love’s prick, and Rosalind. (Laughter)"

But amidst all of this romp, you hear one of the great speeches in the English language:

Jacques: "All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances."

In baseball terms, Shakespeare knows how to throw a changeup. He shifts seamlessly between the sublime and the ridiculous, as the city slickers in the play gradually learn to appreciate country life. Tahoe Shakespeare has framed this 400-year-old comedy cleverly, and effectively, in century-old American terms. And the concept works.

The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival production of “As You Like It” continues through August 24th outdoors at Sand Harbor on the Nevada shore. 


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

 theatreLake Tahoe Shakespeare FestivalAs You Like ItShakespeareSand Harbor

Jeff Hudson

Contributing Arts Reporter and Theatre Critic

Jeff Hudson has been contributing arts-related stories to Capital Public Radio since 1995, with an emphasis on theater and classical music. He attends over 100 performances annually, ranging from modern musicals to medieval masses.   Read Full Bio 

 Email Jeff Hudson

Coronavirus Newsletter

Get answers to your questions, the latest updates and easy access to the resources you need, delivered to your inbox.

 

Want to know what to expect? Here's a recent newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

We'll send you weekly emails so you can stay informed about the coronavirus in California.

Browse all newsletters

Most Viewed

California Coronavirus Updates: Extra Vaccine Doses Not Coming To California As Promised By Trump Administration

California Throws Open COVID Vaccines To Anyone 65 And Older

When Can I Get A COVID-19 Vaccine? How Will I Find Out? Answers To Your California Vaccine Questions.

No, Efforts To Recall California Gov. Newsom Are Not ‘A Coup’

California Lawmakers Threatened By Anti-Vaccine Activists During Public Hearing

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Most Viewed

California Coronavirus Updates: Extra Vaccine Doses Not Coming To California As Promised By Trump Administration

California Throws Open COVID Vaccines To Anyone 65 And Older

When Can I Get A COVID-19 Vaccine? How Will I Find Out? Answers To Your California Vaccine Questions.

No, Efforts To Recall California Gov. Newsom Are Not ‘A Coup’

California Lawmakers Threatened By Anti-Vaccine Activists During Public Hearing

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    • (916) 278-8900
    • Toll-free (877) 480-5900
    • Email Us
    • Submit a News Tip
  • Contact Us

  • About Us

    • Contact Us / Feedback
    • Coverage
    • Directions
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Press
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile App
    • On Air Schedules
    • Smart Speakers
    • Playlist
    • Podcasts
    • RSS
  • Connect With Us

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2021, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.