'As You Like It’ brings together all types of love

Lips puckered and hips shook at the contemporary rendition of William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

The play, which features both heterosexual and homosexual couples, was performed Friday and Saturday at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. Performances continue today through Saturday.

This modern adaptation is not far off from Shakespearean plays 400 years ago, when all roles were played by men. In this case, men intentionally woo men, and women naturally fall in love with women.

“Some alchemy happens between human beings,” director Fontaine Syer said. “When somebody falls in love, we’re not in control.”

In the play, best friends Rosalind, played by graduate student Kristl Densley,  and Celia, played by senior  Gina DiSerio, resist conformity by wearing bright colors that stand out from the rest of the nobility.

However, little do they know they will soon be far away from the royal court.
Cupid shoots arrows at Orlando, played by senior Mark Banik, who was blown away by Rosalind’s confidence and wit.

And after being accused of soiling her family’s reputation, Rosalind is banished from the court.

Celia and Rosalind then strip themselves of their titles to enter the Forest of Arden, accompanied by Touchstone, a court jester in a blue bow tie, played by senior Taylor St. John.

“Unusual for the time period, Shakespeare wrote a strong woman with quirk and humor that acted upon impulses,” Densley said.

Rosalind disguises herself and drops her voice a few octaves lower to become a young man called Ganymede, while Celia, in blue jeans and tennis shoes, disguises herself as a commoner called Aliena and teases Rosalind about her macho man attempts.

Lovestruck Orlando also wanders through the forest. He nails the poetry he wrote professing his love for Rosalind to branches and trees, hoping to leave a trail that will lead her to him. 

“Although she was dressed as a man, Rosalind still worked from her heart the whole time,” Densley said.

In order for Rosalind to overcome her male alter-ego and remain close to Orlando, she persuades him to woo her as if she were Rosalind. Each day, Orlando submits himself to Ganymede’s beck and call.

“In Elizabethan times, there was no distinction between male and female relations,” Banik said. “What matters is that they loved.”

At the end of the play, newlyweds danced hand in hand around Rosalind before breaking into The Beatles’ classic “Twist and Shout.”  

“It made me feel so happy that everyone ended up with who they wanted,” audience member and junior Kerry Ipema said.

Flowers decorated the trees to celebrate the weddings of the same-sex and heterosexual couples, as Rosalind and Orlando married.

“It successfully brought a new dimension to the characters’ dynamic,” Densley said.