Here, too, Zirm’s direction and the update serve the material well the cast are all encouraged to deliver the lines naturalistically and conversationally, whether as a mafioso like the excellently menacing Robert Teachout’s evil Duke Frederick, or a New York bruiser like Bill Bodie - who then shows a completely new character as the ultra-hippie-dippy Duke Senior. Matt Mills’ sound also fits the theme, incorporating clips from Rocky, The Godfather, and Darth Vader’s theme, but more important makes every syllable of Shakespeare’s verse audible. William Fleming’s fight coordination works too, whether seriously between feuding brothers or humorously in the pro-wresting/Rocky parody of Orlando’s challenge. Fittingly, Jennifer Morrissey’s costumes play with all the different looks of the era - peasant dresses, schoolgirl jumpers, psychedelic mini-dresses and go-go boots, army surplus, denim, black fedoras and trench coats, and of course lots of vests, tie dye, and bellbottoms.
Miller Photography.ĭirector Fred Zirm’s charming conception of the show draws not just on hippies, but on every 1960s and early 1970s trope, from the Godfather to Darth Vader to professional wrestling to Black Panthers to country farmers straight out of Hee Haw. Betsy Schugar as Rosalind Corey Ahearn as Amiens in ‘As You Like It.’ Photos by Julie B. The British Players’ placing Shakespeare’s classic comedy As You Like It in the groovy Woodstock era not only updates the setting but makes sense of some plot holes in the original - most notably, why are a bunch of noblemen hanging out in the woods? Turning them into a group of hippies grooving in nature instead of battling the cutthroat politics of a gangsterish court works extremely well. Shakespeare, of course! The Bard has been refashioned in every era from dystopian fascism to the Fifties to Wall Street in order to make him more relevant. Before superhero comics came along, what franchise did directors reboot endlessly to bank on a tried-and-true product while satisfying audiences’ cravings for novelty and relatability?
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