INTO THE FOREST

AS YOU LIKE IT

Directed by Lucy Smith Conroy; written by William Shakespeare
With: Dustin Tucker, Tanya Wineland, Sally Wood, Tommy Schoffler, Daniel Noel, Bill Van Horn, and Mark S. Cartier
In repertory at The Theater At Monmouth in Monmouth, Maine
From July 2 to August 21, 2004

Reviewed by Laurie Meunier Graves

I can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs.
—Jaques, from As You Like It

Behind my house is a deep forest—dark and dappled in the summer, silent in the winter. With its flickering shadows, it is a place of beauty, but it also has a faint feel of menace. At night, strange animal cries often come from the woods, and at times, the trees and the ferns seem like a dense green wall, shielding the denizens within from the denizens without. It’s almost as though my back lawn, which abuts the forest, is a sort of border that I am reluctant to cross. Who knows what might be lurking in those flickering shadows?

Shakespeare seems to have understood the paradoxical nature of the forest, how it is both a place of sanctuary and a place of danger. In many of his plays, the characters flee into the forest in either exile or confusion, get lost, endure hardships, and then find themselves again. There are often several sets of foolish lovers afflicted with the usual problems—jealousy, fickleness, unrequited love, and youthful flightiness. The forest brings the lovers together to court, spar, separate, and reunite. By the end of the play, the forest has done its job, the problems are resolved, and the characters are ready to return to civilization. In most cases, they’re not exactly wise, but they do know more than they knew when they first went into the forest. And for many of these silly lovers, this represents real progress.

As You Like It is a perfect example of this. It opens with two brothers who can barely control their contempt for and impatience with each other. Orlando, the younger brother and the hero of the play, chafes at being under the thumb of his older brother Oliver. Oliver, in turn, has a resentful nature and is jealous of his younger brother who is “full of noble device.” In fact, Oliver would like nothing better than to be rid of his “enchantingly beloved” younger brother, and Oliver arranges to have a wrestler dispatch the pesky, charismatic Orlando.

The action then moves to Duke Frederick’s palace, where a similar scene is being played out. However, this time the roles are reversed; it is the younger brother who is at fault. Duke Frederick has banished his older brother, the rightful duke, from court, and where should the usurped duke flee? Into the forest of Arden, of course, perhaps one of the most famous forests in literature. The usurped duke has left behind a daughter, Rosalind, who lives at court with her cousin Celia, the daughter of Duke Frederick. The two young women love each other like sisters, and even though they are not siblings, they are loyal to each other, providing a striking contrast to the two sets of brothers.

Naturally, the situation goes from bad to worse, and if As You Like It were a tragedy, viewers might be justified in wondering how high the body count would be by the time the play ended. At the wrestling match, Orlando prevails and has just enough time to fall in love with Rosalind before he must flee from both the fratricidal Oliver and the mercurial, treacherous Duke Frederick. Rosalind, however, has little time to brood about Orlando. Duke Frederick has turned against her as well, and she must leave the court or be killed. Celia, who can’t bear to be separated from Rosalind, insists on coming with her, and Touchstone, the court’s witty, impudent fool, is persuaded to come with them. This gives Shakespeare the opportunity to employ another favorite device. That is, disguising a woman as a man. In a flash, Rosalind, who is “more than common tall,” discards her gown, dons men’s clothes, and calls herself Ganymede.

Where do Rosalind (aka Ganymede), Celia, and Touchstone go? Into the Forest of Arden, of course. And where does Orlando flee? I’m sure you know the answer to this. Once in the forest, the play takes a completely different twist as the malevolent Duke Frederick is all but forgotten, and the various characters meet, spar, fall in love, and sing. In addition, we are introduced to the rightful duke and his loyal followers, including perhaps the play’s most interesting character, the melancholy, philosophical Jaques, who provides some ballast to this fluff of a play.

Then come the complications! Gender confusion runs rampant when Orlando doesn’t recognize Rosalind in her Ganymede disguise but is drawn to “him” nonetheless, and, in turn, a shepherdess falls in love with “Ganymede.” Touchstone and Celia have their own merry adventures, and the stage clatters with the trotting footsteps of four pairs of lovers. Does all end well? By gosh it does, with a wrap-up so quick and convenient that it even outdoes the television show Stargate SG-1.

If As You Like It is not one of Shakespeare’s silliest plays, then surely it must come close. However, with all that is going on in the world, there are certainly worse ways to spend an evening than watching a silly play, and The Theater At Monmouth’s excellent cast does a fine job with As You Like It. So fine, in fact, that it seems unfair to single out any of the actors for special mention. However, I do think three of the actors did such a good job with their roles that it would be a shame not to call attention to them.

With his mobile, expressive face, Dustin Tucker brings a deft, comedic touch to the role of Orlando. Tucker’s Orlando is by turns impatient, kind, ardent, sure of himself, and not so sure of himself. Whatever Orlando’s mood, Tucker makes him seem believable and brings a real snap to the role of this clueless lover.

Tommy Schoffler plays the fool Touchstone as a man of insolent wit and twitching intelligence. Until Touchstone falls in love, he is smarter than almost everyone else is, and he knows it. Even after he falls in love, Schoffler’s Touchstone remains as vigilant and alert as a Shetland sheepdog, well able to handle the attention that his buxom love receives.

Finally, Mark S. Cartier does a wonderful job with the role of Jaques. His “All the World’s a Stage” speech makes us feel the sadness of decline and death and gives us real insight into this enigmatic character. Yes, Cartier’s Jaques is funny, but his humor is tinged with the awareness of human mortality, and, without this awareness, his character’s melancholy could have very easily become an annoying affectation.

As You Like It is The Theater At Monmouth’s first play of the season, and if this production is any indication, it’s off to a roaring start. 

 

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