Director Erica Schmidt has brilliantly managed to recreate As You Like It inside, with an ensemble of only six actors. She also did Debbie Does Dallas with a very small cast -- but that's another story. This ingeniously-edited adaptation was originally staged in a natural environment, but it survives quite well on a bare stage. Cross-dressing & cross-casting make cast reductions possible, but they also remarkably speed up the pace of playing. Athletic & handsome Lorenzo Pisoni's doubling as Orlando & his evil brother, Oliver, is a wonder of changes. Including a one-handed back-somersault, landing his head neatly in a bowler hat! Cirque du Soleil or Hollywood may soon steal him away from the theater. Applause also for: Drew Cortese, Johnny Giacalone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jennifer Ikeda, & Lethia Nall! This compact & colorful show is ideal for touring, especially in schools.
Images:
Previews:
March 25, 2003
Opened:
April 7, 2003
Ended:
May 4, 2003
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
New York
Company/Producers:
Public Theater
Theater Type:
off-off-Broadway
Theater:
Public Theater
Theater Address:
425 Lafayette Street
Genre:
Comedy
Director:
Erica Schmidt
Review:
Cast:
Drew Cortese, Bryce Dallas Howard, Johnny Giacalone, Jennifer Ikeda, Lethia Nall and Lorenzo Pisoni
Technical:
Design: Erica Schmidt. Lighting: Shelly Sabel
Miscellaneous:
This review first appeared in NYTheatre-wire.com
Critic:
Glenn Loney
Date Reviewed:
May 2003