You asked for it. Or, at least you implied it. So here it comes. The head honcho. The big salami. Check it out: The Wesleyan Theater Department presents William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by professor and department chair Gay Smith.
Back in the day, in 1599, Shakespeare wrote the script for As You Like It amidst a great shift in governmental leadership and strategy. Gay Smith sees the parallels between Shakespeare’s historical context and current social and political atmospheres. She locates this production in a paralleled time and place—1932 United States, as Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt won over Herbert Hoover. By setting the play in 1932, Smith makes the text accessible to modern audiences, allowing the audience to see Shakespeare’s images and themes through the lens of modern politics, ethics, and love.
Set designer Marcela Oteíza is inspired by the geometric systems of modernist and Art Deco architecture. Leslie Weinberg’s costumes echo the wears of the United States Depression Era.
They’ve been working like dogs for an entire semester. According to Smith’s press statement, it is a world where “love conquers all and everyone gets his or her just desserts.” And that sounds at least worth the four dollars.
As You Like It opens Friday, Nov. 17 and runs through Sunday November 19 in the CFA Theater. Performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets ($4 for students, $6 otherwise) available at the Box Office. Starring: Kenton Atta-Krah ’09, Dan Cerruti ’09, Chiara DiLello ’10, Emily Evnen ’10, Alex Fishman ’07, Sam Harrell ’07, Gil Hasty ’10, Mytheos Holt ’10, Chris Krovatin ’07, Zach LeClair ’10, Mark McCloughan ’10, Austin Purnell ’08, Allison Rock ’10, Rachel Salowitz ’07, Gregory Silver ’10, Emily Vallillo ’09, and Margaux Weisman ’09. Crew: Victoria Amoscato ’08 (Stage Manager), John Carr (Lights), Marcela Oteíza (Set), Leslie Weinberg (Costumes).
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