As You Like It

This delightful adaptation updates the action to 20th century New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration! It has been edited for time and archaic expressions, but otherwise the language is the same. The through-line is still very evident as Shakespeare's comment on the classes and pastoralism. Included in the oversized script are four original songs, New Orleans jazz style, which use Shakespeare's poems as the lyrics, with the suggestion of a grand finale of "When the Saints Go Marching In." The costumes are modern day but still very much in the style of Shakespeare comedy. Costume colors start out all in shades of black, white and gray which delineated the forces at work, but by the end of the play all are in wild and dazzling colors for the final Mardi Gras (wedding) scene. About 2 hours.