I saw As You Like It at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre over the weekend, and it was fine. A nice little show, most everybody did a good job, and what do you expect from As You Like It? Frankly, I’m beginning to suspect that Shakespeare just wasn’t really a top-notch comedian.
But anyway, there’s a huge problem that I have with the play, and while I was watching it I think I stumbled on a way to solve it, and I want some opinions here. The problem that I have is this: Orlando is a complete fucking bonehead.
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But intelligent, clever women frequently DO fall in love with boneheads, because no one’s clever about everything.
Yeah, but this is an unsatisfying ending to a romantic comedy. “Reality” isn’t the goal, so it’s not a good excuse here.
Nice. I especially like the part where every subsequent production has to take into account the first production.
It’s kind of depressing now. I never used to want to play Orlando, but since I’ve thought of this, not only do I want to do it, but I also know that I’ll never have the chance to do it with a director who wants to do play him the way I think it should be done, and opposite the actress (or a similarly talented one) who worked on this production.
Hm. Interesting. I’ve never been much of a fan of AYLI — for this reason, mostly — and barely want to see it let alone direct it. You have given me something to think about that might actually make the play less tedious for me and — hence — possibly something I might consider directing. If I do, you can play Orlando.