By Eliza Ridgeway
 Top, from left: Silvius (Max Napier), Phebe (Emily Strichartz) and Orlando (Chris Carter) pine for love – and Rosalind. |
The youths performing Shakespeare at Bus Barn Theater in Los Altos this month deserve a bigger audience for their rollicking, caffeinated celebration of Shakespeare’s comedic “As You Like It.”
Los Altos Youth Theatre gathered thespians from a cross section of schools, including Los Altos High School, Castilleja and Foothill College for the play, which runs through March 29. The show, directed by Shannon Stowe, effectively uses a Western/cowboy setting, both to intensify scenes of violent standoff and to reimagine the pastoral Forest of Arden as dust-blown ranchland.
The revolving set switches between the ducal court (a barroom, painted barmaid included) and the spare suggestion of open spaces, where the wandering characters cross paths and hatch plots on a backdrop of tumbleweeds
Chris Carter delivered as leading man Orlando, accompanying himself bravely on the guitar as he sang a slightly silly ode to his ladylove, Rosalind, and winningly combined fight choreography and comedy in a memorable duel.
Anna Powell mastered a major part as gender-bending Rosalind, a plucky heroine recognized as one of Shakespeare’s great characters. The ensemble as a whole took on a massive task, delivering the text seemingly in its entirety, and for the most part valiantly brought the original language to life. Maddie Sykes particularly shone in the comic role of Celia, reanimating Shakespeare’s tricky prose with lively good humor and clarity.
Max Napier similarly delivered a fully developed character as the lovelorn Silvius, deftly using a countryish accent and physical humor. Overall, the production’s pratfalls and horseplay provided enough energy to ease the audience through the complicated language, but at times the hijinks took on a shrill edge, and replaced subtlety with volume.
Thom Gorrebeeck’s original music, played and sung largely by Maya Knowles, added a pleasurable dimension to the wordy play, but I would have enjoyed seeing the musical accents taken even further.
The players faced a steep challenge interpreting Jaques, an enigmatic character and the subject of much scholarly debate. Amee Wurzberg took on Jaques’ bizarre mood swings and long-winded and peculiar pronouncements bravely – “I can suck melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs,” she delivers with a straight face at one point. But it was difficult to make sense of this character, who is out of place in the text and on the stage.
Sharing the audience with a bevy of teenagers was fun, as was seeing and hearing their appreciation for the actors’ comedy. The audience overall, though, was few in number, a pity – the production provides Shakespeare-lovers with a chance to see his comedy acted out by young people, who actually represent the ages and interests of the Bard’s characters. Rather than watching a professional 35-year-old attempt to re-create a rash 17-year-old swain, why not go to the source?
The Youth Theatre has scheduled auditions for its next show, “Lucky Duck,” April 20 and 21. For more information, visit www.ci.los-altos.ca.us/recreation/layt/.
“As You Like It” plays at 8 p.m. Friday and March 28, and 2 p.m. Saturday and March 29. Tickets are $10. Bus Barn Theater is located at 97 Hillview Ave.
For more information, call 941-0551.
Contact Eliza Ridgeway at elizar@latc.com.
