Review: Big Love for AS YOU LIKE IT at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre

At the crossroads of the Bard and Beatlemania lies the fantastic As You Like It. Full disclosure: I'm smack-dab in the middle of the target audience, where the Shakespeare-loving (or at least willing) meet Beatles fans. But I believe this genre-mashup would be terrific fun for anyone. The show takes a classic Shakespearean rom-com and threads Beatles songs throughout. And yes, it totally works.

This Milwaukee Rep production has its roots in Canada. The idea began with Director Daryl Cloran of the Canadian theater company Bard on the Beach. Cloran had successfully mounted the Bard's Love's Labour's Lost laced with jazz music in 2015, and was encouraged to see if he could blend the Beatles with As You Like It. Needless to say, Cloran succeeded. A new production was also planned at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Says Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements, "I asked to see the script and was really taken by how Daryl had skillfully combined the Beatles songs with Shakepeare's classic text without diluting the genius of either art form." Thus, the Rep's collaboration with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cloran, and the creative team was born.

As You Like It begins with a pre-show -- something I wish I had known, so consider this your heads-up! You'll want to get to the theater early so you can take in the wrestling action (more on that in a moment) and a couple of bonus Beatles songs. Chaotic and unexpected, you're immediately thrust into the world of the play as you take your seat. The center-stage wrestling ring is framed with color-changing panels of light.

As You Like It plays host to at least a dozen characters, so I will try to keep this overview brief. Learning his brother wishes him dead, the young Orlando flees to the Forest of Arden with his faithful old friend Adam. Rosalind has fallen for Orlando, and vice versa, but she has been banished as a traitor. She and her devoted cousin Celia also flee into the forest, first disguising Rosalind in gentleman's clothing. They bring with them their trusty companion, Touchstone.

In the Forest of Arden, the duos meet two groups: the forest court and the forest locals. Orlando and Adam befriend the court -- Duke Senior (a kindly leader), Jaques (a melancholy philosopher), and other forest lords. Rosalind and Celia make a home amongst the local shepherds and goatherds.

In Shakespeare's As You Like It, there are love triangles, fools galore, cross-dressing to wild success, and extraordinary changes of heart. But in this particular As You Like It, the town court is a wrestling venue, a duel is a wrestling match, and the forest court and locals are a bunch of hippies and musicians. The Beatles songs sprinkled throughout not only work, they move the story and characters along. Fans will enjoy the way the actors play with the lyric intonations: "Oh I, tell you... something..." sings Orlando, trying to put his feelings for Rosalind into words (see: "I Want To Hold Your Hand").

While hearing the music performed is immensely satisfying in and of itself, this collaborative Rep production does one better. This cast, their harmonies, the eye-popping staging, costuming, and choreography -- it stirs up new and marvelous feelings about these songs we know so well. This psychedelic As You Like It is deftly devised and superbly executed.

Now some gold stars for this magnificent cast. Justin Gregory Lopez as the lovesick Orlando is delightful and adorable -- particularly as he floats on air, working the crowd in Act One's "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" For Orlando's pal Adam, it's wonderful to see local talent in the ever-excellent Norman Moses.

The cousins Rosalind and Celia are played by Savannah L. Jackson and Lizzy Brooks, respectively. Both are bright and clear-voiced with charisma for days. In the end, this feels like Rosalind's story, and Jackson owns it beautifully. Their faithful Touchstone is a scene-stealing favorite in Adam Wesley Brown. Brown is laugh-loud funny -- like, the water-spitting will have you in stitches (you'll see).

Making our way into the forest, Don Noble plays the lead hippie, Duke Senior. He brings an ideal energy, vibe, and voice to the part. Another scene-stealer is Trish Lindström as the beatnik philosopher Jaques. She delivers such lines as "I can suck the melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs" with such comical deadpan, you'll not soon forget this singular comedienne.

Still to mention are Morgan Matthew Bernhard, Tony Carter, Michael Dashefsky, Heidi Kettenring, Kieran McCabe, Sophie Murk, Kurt Schweitz, Nancy Voigts, and Marquis Wood. Unanimous praise for one and all, as there's not a weak link in the bunch. Special shout-out to Bernhard (replaced by Patrick Martin on 2/20) for giving us a particularly stirring "Let It Be" on opening night.

As for the brilliant sets, costumes, and choreography, we have Scenic Designer Pam Johnson, Costume Designer Carmen Alatorre, and Lighting Designer Gerald King to thank for that. The wrestling ring gives way to a wooded oasis of grassy hills, flowering trees, chirping birds, a bubbling spring, and a sunny VW van. The light-up panels that frame the stage change with the play's mood, and every detail of the costuming helps these characters pop. Two final shout-outs: Here's to Sound Designer J Jumbelic for making the music shine, and to Choreographer/Fight Director Jonathan Hawley Purvis for orchestrating such impressive agility and physicality.

Name-dropping aside, I'll be candid: As the cast of As You Like It took their bows (and encore bows) on opening night through a shower of rainbow confetti and "All You Need Is Love," I scribbled in my little notebook: "So stinkin' CUTE!" Not all that eloquent, but true. And I immediately wished I could start the experience once more from the top (and arrive in time for the pre-show).

As You Like It is one I wasn't sure would work on paper. Prolific though they are, Beatles plus Bard sounds kind of silly. But turns out, that's how I like it. And if the standing ovation on opening night is any indication, I'm not the only one.