By Cece Razo
Staff Writer
If William Shakespeare had attended opening night of Franciscan University’s Theater Department’s “As You Like It” performance Nov. 8 at 7 p.m., I don’t know which would send him into a coma first, the sudden and hilarious use of DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What” or women portraying actual women.
But once Shakespeare would have come out of his coma, he would have been in awe at the performance and laughing like a hyena at the delivery of all his puns and jokes. Indeed, Shakespeare’s comedy was phenomenally done by the Theater Department.
The experience of the box theater was meticulously crafted from the beautiful set design to the original songs written by alumna AmyLynn Miller. The students, staff and visitors all came out of the play in wonder and delight.
After checking in at the box office, guests were greeted with sounds of the woods among the forest set design. From the moment you entered the theater, you were transported into the setting of “As You Like It.”
With the audience seated, the foresters serenaded them with calming renditions of popular songs such as “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel, “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” by Taylor Swift and even “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer.
Once the rules of the theater were comically sung and poetically told, the curtains were pulled and the magic began. All of the actors were exceptional in their roles and deserving of great praise.
Some actors who especially stood out in their performances were the main leads: senior humanities and Catholic culture major Michael Chomick and senior theater major Ava Quaale. Chomick and Quaale’s chemistry gave the audience chills and lured them into a romance one desires wholeheartedly: a love that brings about poetry written on the trees.
Both actors showed true theatrical talent and made Shakespeare’s art truly come to life. Other mentionable characters who made their presence known on stage were senior theater major Sally Doty and senior theology major Nicholas Carpentier.
Doty’s quick and sassy interpretation of Celia always brought a laugh and smile to the audience. In the most memorable moment of the performance, Carpentier gave an entrance like no other when entering his wrestling match against Chomick’s character.
In an interview with one of the cast members, senior AYA major Summer Derwald, who played one of the Foresters, shared her experience.
On the process behind the show she commented, “The process was definitely not easy, but it was all possible because of our director Dr. Anderson. Not all of us in the cast are theater majors or Shakespeare scholars, but Dr. Anderson’s knowledge and directing style were totally geared towards what the ‘common man’ can understand.”
Derwald also shared that her favorite part of the show was, “The ‘bad core’ version of ‘Turn Down for What’ playing for the entrance of Charles the wrestler. It’s hilarious, and I think it shows the accessibility of the show — it’s not an aloof high society performance. Shakespeare meant for it to be ridiculous, so we made it ridiculous!”
All in all, a smashing hit and a definite success by the Theater Department.