New Play Celebrates Love

By: Tara Maroney

Posted: 4/21/06

The bleak and nearly empty stage at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre will soon be alive with one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, "As You Like It." The comedy about love and mistaken identity will be presented by the Connecticut Repertory Theater (CRT) starting this Friday.

The show is about a group of individuals who find themselves in the Forest of Arden and realize that the forest is entirely different from the world that they are used to.

"People are stifled in this court that doesn't celebrate love," Lauretta Pope, a 1st-year MFA acting student said. "[In the forest] they can do things that they couldn't do before."

Pope, who is playing the character of Celia, is making her first appearance on the Jorgensen stage in "As You Like It." The main theme is that love comes in many forms and is there for all of us if we are willing to accept it, Pope said. This is what the show exemplifies.

"Everyone has been changed by self discovery," she said.

While some people may be turned off by the idea of Shakespeare, Dale A.J. Rose, the director and new associate artistic director of CRT has spent a lot of time making the words and the script clear to the actors who will hopefully convey the message to the audience.

"If there's clarity for actors there's clarity for the audience," Teddy Yudain, a 6th-semester acting major said. "We're having a lot of fun up here."

Yudain said that the whole cast has become very involved in understanding the piece and telling the story well.

"You have to really analyze and look into all the little nuances that Shakespeare put in there," Yudain said.

This is Yudain's first Shakespeare play with CRT, and the second in his acting career. He encouraged people to attend even if they were unsure about understanding a Shakespearean play. It is just poetry, he said.

"It's just like slam poetry for the 1600s," he said.

The show's director feels that audience members may have a new appreciation for the show after seeing it.

"My sense is that they will come away with maybe an appreciation," Rose said.

This appreciation would not just be for Shakespeare's writing but also for how the themes of the show relate to life now. The theme of love, which is continuous through the play, transcends time. Rose said that the characters all come away from the show loving something, be it themselves, money or another person.

"Then of course there is lust," Rose laughed.

The levels of connection between human beings from a deep love, to a lustful relationship are also explored in the story.

The show is a comedy and that will have appeal for audiences. There are songs and some periodic dancing. Pope said that the costumes by Dragana Vucetic really helped in telling the visual aspect of the story.

Even those who have seen the show before may find this performance slightly different.

"All we've been trying to do is create the spirit of the story," Rose said.

The set will not become an elaborate forest when the characters move into the Forest of Arden. This is partly because the forest is something different to each of the characters. What the forest does have is a transitive effect for all the individuals who enter it. By keeping the stage empty, Rose hopes that people will be able to use their imaginations.

Given the show's themes of love, it is a good time for it to be presented.

"It's a good springtime play for young lovers," Pope said.
The show will be at the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre until April 28.