Update of ‘As You Like It’ is a pure delight

Summer is here, and that means Shakespeare on the Plaza is back — and it’s totally free. This year, the Vortex Theatre, in collaboration with the city of Albuquerque, present two delightful comedies: “As You Like It” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”

George Bernard Shaw reportedly hated “As You Like It.” For my part, it might be my favorite Shakespearean comedy. It certainly has as much heart as anything else Shakespeare ever wrote.

After falling in love at first sight, both Orlando and Rosalind are forced, separately, to flee the evils of civilized life for the magical Forest of Arden, Rosalind disguised as a man to increase her chances of survival in the wilderness. When Rosalind catches her love desecrating the trees of the forest with bad love poems, she offers to pretend to be his love so that she might assuage his heartache. In other words, in this play Rosalind pretends to be a man who is pretending to be a woman. And you thought gender fluidity was a recent invention.

Director Brendan McCall has transferred the play to the 1960s, with the Forest of Arden a conversion point of “Summer of Love” hedonists. It is fashionable these days to take these sorts of liberties with Shakespeare’s texts. In this case, the transfer works. Likewise, in conformity with the theme of gender fluidity, the director has cast women in many of the parts originally written for men. So the evil Duke Frederick becomes the evil Duchess Frederica (marvelously played by Debi Kierst).

Likewise, the melancholy Jacques is played here by Heaven Phillips. At first I did not think this was going to work, but I warmed to her interpretation, ultimately concluding that she is perhaps the most interesting Jacques I have ever seen.

There are too many wonderful performances to mention them all. But I must say a word about Rosalind, the biggest and perhaps juiciest female part Shakespeare ever wrote. Evening Star Barron is wonderful in the role, in total command of a difficult part. Her sidekick, Celia, is brilliantly played by Abby Van Gerpen, every nuance conveyed by her expressive face and flexible voice. Stephanie Anne Landers is also very good as the clown Touchstone, a very tough role, but handled here with masterful ease.

“Shakespeare on the Plaza” closes July 1.