That tune is one among two dozen numbers cleverly plucked from the Fab 4’s discography on this enchanting mix of jukebox musical, Elizabethan prose and anachronistic antics, conceived by Christopher Gaze and Cloran for the 2018 Bard on the Seashore Shakespeare Competition in Vancouver, B.C. The manufacturing has additionally been staged in Chicago and Milwaukee, and plenty of members of the largely Canadian forged have returned to nourish D.C. audiences with a heaping serving to of tune and slapstick.
A phrase to the sensible: Arrive early to Harman Corridor, the place the professional wrestling sendup will get rolling a couple of minutes earlier than curtain with a gloriously campy slate of undercard bouts (in a pre-show penned by Khoshkam and choreographed by Jonathan Hawley Purvis). From there, Cloran’s neatly abridged tackle Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy treks to extra acquainted territory: Rosalind, banished from her house amid a familial energy battle, disguises herself as a person and flees for the forest of Arden. There, she once more crosses paths with Orlando — himself on the lam from his resentful brother (Matthew MacDonald-Bain) — in a cascade of sexual stress and comedian misunderstandings.
That puppy-love innocence is underscored right here by the Beatles’ joyful songbook, in addition to the peace-and-love ethos of an Arden reimagined as a hippie commune. Quite than distract from Shakespeare’s language, the ever-present tunes — “I Wish to Maintain Your Hand,” “Right here Comes the Solar” and “Throughout the Universe,” amongst them — show to be one thing of a Rosetta Stone, evoking that means and emotion that show to be uncannily aligned with the textual content.
Turning Orlando’s love letters to Rosalind into the lyrics to “Eight Days a Week” is one such impressed selection. The identical goes for “One thing,” carried out with vaudevillian virtuosity by one other of the play’s 4 {couples}, the snobby Phoebe (Alexandra Lainfiesta) and lovesick Silvius (Ben Elliott, who doubles as music director). Not each performer has a classically educated voice, however the forged makes up for any vocal shortcomings with full-throated comedic dedication.
As Touchstone, a clownish companion to Rosalind and her loyal pal Celia (the charming Naomi Ngebulana), Khoshkam racks up chortle after chortle. Sporting a gaudy striped go well with, glowing platform heels and an array of Elton John-esque assertion glasses, this Touchstone breaks the fourth wall with abandon and retains going again to the comedian effectively (actually — one recurring gag includes ingesting from a dank pool of water). When Touchstone finds his match within the equally eccentric Audrey (Emma Slipp), the handsy duo comply with a rendition of “After I’m Sixty-4” with an animalistic mating ritual that tickles the viewers by means of sheer dedication to the bit.
Portraying Rosalind as a flirtatious firecracker, Rose delights with a barrage of off-kilter readings and reactions. Because the candy however often marble-mouthed Orlando, Irving performs a lovesick doofus to a T. And Andrew Cownden drips with cynicism because the Arden denizen Jaques, who leads hypnotic renditions of “I Am the Walrus” and “The Idiot on the Hill,” along with slyly delivering the famed Seven Ages of Man speech.
These shenanigans unfold towards Pam Johnson’s two-tiered set, which frames its expressionistic backdrops with three units of psychedelically lit panels. (Gerald King oversees the colourful lighting.) Costume designer Carmen Alatorre could have essentially the most gleeful project of all, crafting seems that run the gamut from skimpy wrestling get-ups to flowing hippie apparel. All of the whereas, a group of actor-musicians has a cool good time rocking out onstage.
The rock music on this manufacturing will, little doubt, make a buzzkill out of the Shakespeare purist. Identical goes for the broadly comedic take. However right here’s the ironic actuality: This twist towards counterculture makes “As You Like It” as accessible as ever.
As You Like It, by William Shakespeare. Directed by Daryl Cloran. Set, Pam Johnson; costumes, Carmen Alatorre; lighting, Gerald King; choreography and battle route, Jonathan Hawley Purvis; sound, Alistair Wallace; music route, Ben Elliott. With Henry Beasley, Jennifer Copping, Matthew Ip Shaw, Jennifer Traces, Norman Moses, Evan Rein, Isaiah Terrell-Dobbs and Sally Zori. About 2½ hours. Via Jan. 7 at Harman Corridor, 610 F St. NW. shakespearetheatre.org.
