By Manning Harris
fmanningh@gmail.com
Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” at Georgia Shakespeare through June 29, has been called a drama of happiness, with the radiant Rosalind (Courtney Patterson) a savvy, joyous avatar showing one and all the power of life’s possible freedoms.
The play is a perfect choice to plunge us into summer’s delights; for nothing and no one in the play can seriously challenge Rosalind’s confidence that things will turn out well: not even old Jaques (Chris Kayser), that melancholy intellectual who has the play’s famous “seven ages of man” speech: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…”
In fact, if you searched all dramatic literature for a perfectly selfless egotism, a person so ravished with self-confidence that she has the capacity to illuminate those around her, you might well end up with Rosalind. I never realized it before this production, but in her jaunty way, she dominates her play as much as Hamlet dominates his; nobody’s going to rain on her parade.
Rosalind is looking for love, and she finds it quickly in the person of the handsome Orlando (Travis Smith), a champion wrestler who’s been denied his inheritance by his corrupt older brother (Joe Knezevich). For reasons too complex to explore here, Rosalind disguises herself as a young man called Ganymede and flees to the forest of Arden with her best pal Celia (Molly Coyne).
Rosalind proceeds to educate Orlando in the best ways to woo and win a woman; such is her charm that even in disguise she proves irresistible to Orlando (who seems to see through her cross-dressing), who soon declares he will die without her. She comforts him and all lovers with her sweet wisdom: “Men have died from time to time, and worms have eaten them—but not for love.” Rosalind wants love as much as he, but she’s too fully integrated a personality with too much joy of life in her to consider perishing of the “French slop,” as Mercutio would say.
Meanwhile, the forest of Arden is the place to be; it’s a safe haven for fools (like Allan Edward’s Touchstone), mismatched lovers (like Silvius (Justin Walker) and Phebe (the brilliant Ann Marie Gideon), and assorted shepherds, lords, and country wenches. And in one of Shakespeare’s masterstrokes, the audience comes to understand that they, too, are safe here. Maybe the earth is not that frightening after all. This is why people go to plays, and “As You Like It” is the Bard’s happiest.
There’s a lovely, large cast, and I simply cannot mention them all. Direction is by Richard Garner. Scenic design by Kat Conley, sound design by Clay Benning, and music composed by Kendall Simpson all contribute immensely. I predict multiple weddings at the end: Just you wait.
Yet something intangible is lacking: a certain sweet abandon, a kind of benevolent madness—with which the play would be true magic. All I can say is—and this is not a criticism—is pick up the pace and swing for the fences.
I can also that the play is a personal triumph for Courtney Patterson as Rosalind. This is a star role, requiring incandescence and charisma, neither of which can be taught. I can see the young Katharine Hepburn soaring in this role, and I understand that she did, on Broadway in 1950. But comparisons are not only odious, but meaningless. Don’t you worry: Ms. Patterson soars.
For tickets and information, visit gashakespeare.org.
