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Rating: 3 out of Fordyce

The theater department at Michigan State University is performing Shakespeare’s As You Like It until Sunday November 21. It has been years since I have seen this play on stage and I was impressed with the creativity of placing this show in a Victorian setting with a twist.

As You Like It follows Rosalind as she flees her uncle’s court, trying to get the man she loves. She is accompanied by her cousin Celia and Touchstone the court jester. After some gender bending, they find safety and eventually love in the Forest of Arden.

In this production, Arden is a circus full of magic acts and colorful characters that make this play special. The sets, the lighting, and the tricks keep the audience engaged in spite of some slow-moving dialog.

Andrew Harvey is a delight as Touchstone, Curran Jacobs is very good as the handsome Orlando, and Mariette Straus is charming and alluring as Rosalind. But the ensemble cast doing the magic and acrobatics is what makes this show stand out. It could have been “just another college Shakespeare play.” It is not.

The play features one of Shakespeare’s most famous lines: “All the world’s a stage.” So get to the stage at the Passant Theatre at MSU and enjoy this show, which gets a good 3 out of Fordyce.