STC’s AS YOU LIKE IT a Beatles & Bard Mashup & Unconventional Good Time

In many ways, it’s a perfect pairing: The Bard and the Beatles. Shakespearean romance and the pervasive love of the 70s.

Currently on stage at the Shakespeare Theatre and extended for a second time by popular demand, AS YOU LIKE IT is a mashup that not only sounds incredibly fascinating but also makes more sense than one might first imagine. Because in this early Shakespearean play, one of the central themes is “All You Need Is Love.”

Love manifests itself in various forms in this one: love at first sight, romantic love, the bonds of friendship, and the security of family ties. But forgiveness, envy, and even a deconstruction of gender roles are also key in this early theatre work. And it was as experimental for Shakespeare in his day as this version is for DC audiences — legend has it that it also began with a live wrestling match and was interspersed with popular songs.

In typical Shakespeare fashion, the plot is convoluted, but all comes together in the end. In brief, Rosalind (Chelsea Rose), disguised as a man, flees persecution at court with her extremely loyal cousin Celia (Naomi Ngebulana), playing as her sister. They seek out Rosalind’s mother (Jennifer Lines), also banished, in the Forest of Arden.  Meanwhile, Orlando de Boys (Jeff Irving), whom Rosalind had met (and fallen in love with) at a wrestling match just before leaving town, also flees into the forest to escape his older brother and happens upon Rosalind’s exiled family, who takes him in.

Throughout a complicated series of relationships, audiences will laugh along with the court jester/wrestling announcer Touchstone (Kayvon Khoshkam); appreciate the music, dance, and stage movement stylings of the Forest Lords (Captain: Marco Walker-Ng); and even experience some melancholy with the play’s juxtapositional character, Jacques (Andrew Cownden), who not only busts out in the totally unexpected “I Am The Walrus,” but delivers what is undoubtedly the most famous line from the play, “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players.”

All of this, peppered with almost two dozen Beatles songs that, with a little more work, could flow naturally into place.

If you can’t remember the last time you saw this iconic Shakespeare play, come for a curious reintroduction to the classic. And if you never imagined the magical Forest of Arden as a hippie commune, come with an open mind and a love of the Beatles. Because audiences in the right frame of mind may be singing along to “Good Day Sunshine” and “Here Comes the Sun” right along with the cast. These days, creative theatre is ‘As You Like It.’

As You Like It runs 2 hours and 40 minutes with one 15 minute intermission and is now playing through Jan 14, 2024. Tickets.