PREVIEW
As You Like It
Feb. 19 to March 15
Citadel Theatre
9828 101A Ave., Edmonton
Tickets: Start at $30 plus fees. Call 780-425-1820 or visit citadeltheatre.com
As a prelude to spring, Citadel Theatre is mounting a musical about love with all its passion, anguish and comedy.
Reviewers across Canada have heaped praise on artistic director Daryl Cloran’s modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy As You Like It. And the creative mashup between the Bard and the Beatles is finally premiering in Edmonton from Feb. 19 to March 15.
The idea of melding Beatles songs into Shakespeare's pastoral comedy is initially a head-scratcher. Set in British Columbia’s 1960s during the hippie era, St. Albert actress Jenny McKillop explains that Cloran has cut out portions of the Bard’s text and incorporated the Fab Four’s love songs.
“The songs are about love, and you see the connection in the way the music is woven into the script. It's lovely and the songs give more moments to develop characters such as myself that don’t have a lot of dialogue,” said McKillop.
McKillop plays Audrey, a dyed in the wool farm girl whose big solo is When I’m 64. (In Shakespeare’s original Audrey was a shepherdess.)
“Audrey is a fun character. She works on a farm and takes care of goats. She’s a no-nonsense, salt-of-the-earth girl,” McKillop noted.
In Shakespeare's original text, Duke Frederick banishes his older brother from court. The elder Duke Senior escapes to the Forest of Ardenne where he lives like Robin Hood with a bunch of loyal followers. In Cloran’s adaptation, Duke Senior escapes to the Okanagan.
Rosalind, Duke Senior's daughter, is also banished from court and she travels to the Okanagan with her cousin Celia and a servant/fool Touchstone. To stay safe, Rosalind disguises herself as Ganymede, a man.
In the meantime, a young Orlando bolts from his cruel, older brother Oliver and lands in the Okanagan all the while mooning over Rosalind. He bumps into Rosalind but fails to recognize her disguised as Ganymede.
Confusing? You bet, however Shakespeare successfully resolves the lovers' issues with several marriages at the end.
To enliven the story Cloran and music director Ben Elliott pulled 25 songs from the Fab Four’s 12 studio albums to express the characters’ thoughts and emotions.
Several of McKillop’s favourites range from Let It Be and Fool on the Hill to Hide Love Away and Good Day Sunshine.
“They’re beautiful. They are joyous. They are songs we love.”
Cloran first premiered As You Like It at Vancouver’s 2018 Bard on the Beach Festival. At first the mashup of 500-year-old text and contemporary pop sounded like a gimmicky way to attract crowds. But theatregoers loved it and reportedly broke attendance records.
Costume designer Carmen Alatorre sets the sixties with period colours and patterns, and there’s a wrestling match prior to the show.
McKillop closes by saying, “It’s fun. It’s full of joyous energy. There’s lots of comedy and romance. It’s about love.”
