Shakespeare in the Park - As You Like It
Presented by Chicago Street Theatre
Northwest Health Amphitheater
Saturday, July 9th
Free to the Public | Food Vendors & Bar Open at 6pm | Show at Dusk
Featured Food Vendor - The Lunch Box Food Truck
Directed by: Kari-Anne Innes
This comedic love story follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle’s court. Accompanied by her cousin Celia, she hopes to find safety and, eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden. In the forest they unexpectedly encounter a band of likewise banished forest dwellers, including Orlando, Rosalind’s newly discovered heart-match. They also encounter another memorable character, the melancholy traveler Jacques, who speaks many of Shakespeare’s most famous speeches (such as “All the world’s a stage”, “too much of a good thing” and “A fool! A fool! I met a fool in the forest”). Although the play is over 400 years old, the director has set it in modern time but retains the classic language. In Shakespeare’s time women were not allowed on stage so all parts were played by men. This production features gender-blind casting as a nod to both those times and the present.
