Shakespeare & Company/Lenox

In Lenox, Shakespeare & Company is mounting As You Like It for the first time since 1990 (through Aug. 29), and the production just may be the finest Shakespeare to be found this side of the pond. Both the longtime company members and the young actors in the cast have substantial Shakespeare credits, and while their proficiency with the language is impressive, perhaps even more impressive is their ability to convince us that they are truly head-over-heels in love—which is one reason this rendition of the Bard's most romantic play works so well. When Michael Milligan (Orlando) and Christine Marie Brown (Rosalind) pronounce themselves instantly, and profoundly, smitten, they radiate such rapture and hope, you believe every word. Milligan is utterly charming, and Brown embodies both the vulnerability and the wit that make Rosalind such a distinctive character.

Playing alongside this largest Shakespearean role for a woman, Anne Gottlieb could fade into the background, but her Celia matches cousin Rosalind in sweetness and smarts. And Gottlieb and her paramour, Jason Asprey (Oliver)—who meet, fall in love and marry within the play's final minutes—also appear completely enamored in the wedding scene. Asprey displays versatility in his dual roles: when not portraying the handsome nobleman Oliver, he's nearly unrecognizable as the uncouth shepherd Corin.

Speaking of shepherds, the comic spotlight belongs to Dan McCleary and Susannah Millonzi as the besotted Silvius and his object of affection, Phebe, who falls for Rosalind dressed as a boy: Their pull-out-all-the-stops hijinks far surpass the "comic relief" their characters are supposed to deliver. Millonzi, it should be noted, is a member of S&Co's training program, making her mainstage debut here.

All the men and women of this As You Like It are not merely players: The pitch-perfect casting splendidly refreshes this oft-produced work, so I want to mention them all: Jonathan Epstein (Jaques), Kevin G. Coleman (Touchstone), Ariel Bock (Audrey) and—each in multiple smaller roles—Tony Molina, James Robert Daniels, Nevin Kumar, Mel Cobb, Dennis Krausnick, Martin Bonger and Zachary Green. As with many productions of Shakespeare's character-in-disguise plays, Rosalind's drag—which consists of pulling her hair back and wearing trousers—would fool no one in the audience. But why quibble when so much else is right, including Jacqueline Firkins' costumes, which follow a black/white scheme for the court vs. the forest and include colorfully sassy frocks for the shepherdesses. Kris Stone's scenic design features a snowfall and flowers that bloom as the play progresses from winter to spring. Kudos to director Eleanor Holdridge for pulling it all together.

Shakespeare & Company presents another sterling production, also directed by Holdridge, in its Spring Lawn Theatre: Peter Shaffer's 1990 comedy Lettice and Lovage (through Sept. 5). Tina Packer so consummately suits the title role that it's hard to believe someone else once owned it— though it did earn Maggie Smith a Tony (and, with her desire to "enlighten and enliven" a deteriorating society, Lettice resembles Miss Jean Brodie, Smith's Oscar role). Packer must have known she was ideal for the role—as the founder and artistic director of S&Co, she's the one who decided to produce L&L. Packer has said she'd had a hankering to do the play ever since her company took up residence a few years ago in Spring Lawn, a converted mansion whose parlor serves as one of S&Co's theaters. The opening scenes, which take place on a tour of one of Britain's stately homes, are staged on the mansion's grand staircase, with audience members standing around as tourists before they take their seats inside the theater for the rest of the play (set in an office and apartment).

Diane Prusha, another of S&Co's grande dames, plays Lotte, the Preservation Trust employee who fires then befriends Lettice, and she too is excellent. In addition to being a delightful portrait of female bonding and of a Don Quixote-like quest to reintroduce grace and gallantry into our lives, Lettice and Lovage offers lessons in British heritage—including what "lovage" is (an herb). This is a play for romantics, history buffs, bardolaters (Shakespeare is, appropriately enough, one of Lettice's loves) and anyone who's ever thought "they don't make 'em like they used to" about a work of art or architecture. The performances and camaraderie of Packer and Prusha do indeed "enlighten and enliven" it. Between Packer's marvelously expressive face and Prusha's transformation from uptight, neurotic bureaucrat to fellow traveler in Lettice's reveries (and revelries), the two actresses make such an endearing pair that the scenes with other characters seem superfluous. (No disrespect to actors Andrew Borthwick-Leslie and Catherine Taylor-Williams, but the play is a mite long.) www.shakespeare.org

Sightseeing tip... If, like Lettice, you relish your country's heritage, the Berkshires is a dream destination. Among the historic and culturally significant homes here is Arrowhead, where Herman Melville lived for 13 years and wrote Moby Dick. Melville—who, incidentally, idolized Shakespeare—moved to Pittsfield, just north of Lenox, in 1850. It was here that he met Nathaniel Hawthorne, who helped mold him into a serious author. At Arrowhead, you'll enter the study where Melville wrote his great American novel, motivated by the room's view of the sort-of-whale-shaped MountGreylock. On the informative guided tour, you'll also see such Melville muses as the fireplace in the story "I and My Chimney" and the veranda, which Melville called a "piazza," that inspired "The Piazza Tales." And this Aug. 13 and 14, Melville is literally brought to life in a special theatrical performance at Arrowhead, a one-man show by Christopher Moore of off-Broadway's Pearl Theatre Company called Moby Dick Lives. www.mobydick.org

Where to stay... Lenox is chockful of both bed-and-breakfasts and the performing arts (Tanglewood is here), and the Walker House is one inn that further indulges your love of the arts. Owned and operated by the Houdeks, who have both worked in the arts, Walker House bears a classical-music theme: Each room is named after a composer, with a portrait and bust among the room's decor. There are music-themed art and objets all around the house, and many other collectibles as well (cats are another motif). The inn is located around the corner from Shakespeare & Company and walking distance to the historic village center. Built in 1804, Walker House features a long veranda with rocking chairs and a parlor stocked with books, magazines, videos and a grand piano. The eight guestrooms are spacious, and breakfast includes homemade baked goods. www.walkerhouse.com

Photos of Brown and Coleman (top), Packer and Prusha (bottom), Millonzi and McCleary (homepage) by Kevin Sprague.

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