As You Like It performed by the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Outdoor Stage, College of St. Elizabeth), and: Pericles performed by the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, Drew University) (review)

As the first Shakespearean offering of its 2013 season, the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey chose to present As You Like It, directed by Bonnie J. Monte. While this play was familiar ground for Monte and the company, their decision to stage the production at the Outdoor Stage in the Greek Amphitheatre of the College of St. Elizabeth provided an opportunity for a fresh interpretation that highlighted the elements of physical comedy and double entendresuggested by the text, and afforded the actors a chance to explore and expand the bounds of their character’s comedic and physical presence beyond those normally assumed in an indoor venue. Magnified emotions, sweeping movements and gestures, and dynamic staging contributed to a sense of classical Greek comedy and drama that immersed the audience within the world of the play, providing an immediacy and emotional resonance with the inhabitants of the Forest of Arden that would have been prohibited by a conventional stage.

Taking visual cues from the woods surrounding the amphitheater, set designer Jonathan Wentz created a verdant paradise that blended the reality of the background with its image on stage. An arcaded trellis spanned the diameter of the theater, dividing the forestage from the backstage area while permitting the audience a glimpse of the towering conifers and low shrubs beyond. Before the trellis was a two-tiered, green platform that mirrored the shape of the seating area, while in front was a semicircular ring of grass. The circular upper tier of this platform was lined at the back with another trellis and a row of arborvitae along its circumference. A painted compass rose covered most of the floor. The stage rotated so that for scenes set in the court of Duke Frederick the compass rose was visible, while for scenes in the Forest of Arden the trees came to the foreground. On the lower platform at the center of the stage was a covered pit that served as the heart and hearth of Duke Senior’s sylvan court.

Monte’s decision to offset the upper platform and to place the hearth in front illustrated the dichotomy of the world within the play and the comparisons Shakespeare drew between the specious trappings of the court and the simple nobility of a rural existence. The compass rose contrasted with the lack of guidance and moral direction at the court, while the hearth suggested a court rooted in the heart and soul of man. Surrounded by the majestic...