Written by 3:10 pm Garden Grove, Review, shakespeare oc, Uncategorized

Shakespeare OC presents : As You Like It @ The Strawberry Bowl in Garden Grove – Review

Written by Alina Mae Wilson

“Old stuff is so boring.” So sayeth thousands of high schoolers and a good chunk of the adult population. Shakespeare is not for everyone for obvious reasons.   It takes a special actor to make the aristocracy of the Elizabethan era relatable. But if ever there was a troop to perform a long-winded play in vivid excellence, it would be the production of Shakespeare’s OC’s As You Like It. I don’t know how it could be better.

We begin the play in a prosperous dukedom ruled by the much-loved Duke Senior.   His happiness is short-lived, however, when his brother Duke

In Shakespeare Orange County's Summerfest 2015 staging of "As You Like It," the tables are turned another 180 degrees as actor Josh Odsess-Rubin (left) plays the comic heroine who hides her sex under the guise of a man named Ganymede (right), and then is surprised when the lovestruck Orlando, played by Colin Martin shows how he would woo Rosalind when he sees her again. Photo by Jordan Kubat | Shakespeare Orange County.

In Shakespeare Orange County’s Summerfest 2015 staging of “As You Like It,” the tables are turned another 180 degrees as actor Josh Odsess-Rubin plays the comic heroine who hides her sex under the guise of a man named Ganymede (right) and then is surprised when the lovestruck Orlando, played by Colin Martin (left) shows how he would woo Rosalind when he sees her again. Photo by Jordan Kubat | Shakespeare Orange County.

Frederick usurps him from the throne and exiles him to a forest. Duke Senior’s daughter Rosalind remains at court as the dear companion of her cousin Celia. When the two girls grow into fair young maidens, they meet a young man named Orlando, who is driven from his home by the abuse of his malicious older brother Oliver. Rosalind and Orlando fall in love and are separated to meet again later. When Duke Frederick throws a tantrum for no reason other than that Rosalind is well-liked by the people, Rosalind finds herself banished. She and her cousin Celia decide to flee together, with Rosalind disguised as a handsome man named Ganymede and Celia as an impoverished woman called Aliena. They bring the court fool along with them and, while disguised, run into strangers, lovers, and banished family members.

Nothing onstage is for pure decoration. Every inch of it is used to maximum benefit. Even the rock well on stage is perfectly utilized in several scenes. Since the stage is teeming with people climbing on trees and charging up steps, the audience is kept alert for the majority of the show. It’s worth mentioning that despite the long cast list (37 strong), the blocking never once looks sloppy. One of my favorite scenes in the show involves most of the cast serving as spectators at a wrestling match in a very creative way.

The acting is well done by all parties involved, but the star of the show is undeniably Josh Odsess-Rubin, who plays Rosalind/Ganymede. Rubin’s Rosalind is vulnerable,  creative, and giddy with love for Orlando. In short, he is everything one could want Rosalind to be. This is a first in my theater experience.   In a time when such emphasis is placed on being as realistic as possible, it is fascinating to see a play with even a fraction of this historical truth-that women were played by men at the time. Women play all the other women in the show, but still, this is unexpected. Equally worthy of note is that his gender is not played up for laughs-anymore than could be expected. This is as serious as a portrayal of a man playing a woman pretending to be a man as one could ever hope to see.  

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My Review
9.5 Overall
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Best Shakespeare I've seen
I am not one who usually enjoys Shakespeare, although I have seen many Shakespeare plays. But this show.. this show is so fun to watch, and so engrossing, i found myself laughing in spite of myself at how o could have been so misguided. This amazingly talented company brought the play to life in a way i had thought was impossible for Shakespeare. I laughed and cried. A truly transcendent experience.
August 18, 2015, 11:48 pm
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