As You Like it or Not

Those who think Rush wrote the line “All the world’s a stage” won’t know, or care, that Southwest Shakespeare Company has taken certain liberties with the Bard’s great comedy As You Like It, SSC’s season opener. On the other hand, those who believe it’s heresy to tinker with Shakespeare – well, to thee we say, we desire we may be better strangers.

Of the myriad things that make Shakespeare’s works great, their near-supernatural malleability stands supreme. It’s hard to imagine a Sam Shepard play recast as a Broadway musical or performed by an all-dog cast, but nothing much surprises with Shakespeare.

SSC’s reimagining of As You Like It is not nearly so extreme, though perhaps a wee bit darker than ol’ Will envisioned. “We think of the pastoral comedy of the play, but we forget that it begins very much like a thriller,” says director Richard Baird. “By finding the dark side of As You Like It, I think we will be able to contrast it beautifully with its uproarious comedy.”

Thu., Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Thu., Oct. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Oct. 5, 3 p.m.; Thu., Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.; Fri., Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Oct. 11, 2 & 7:30 p.m., 2008