‘As You Like It’ At Caltech

Theater Arts At Caltech presents Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece Sat., Feb. 17 through Sat., March 4.What do you get when you put a woman who dressed Judy Garland together with a man who drove the Mars Rover? Throw in a quantum physicist, a prizewinning Irish stepdancer, a computer guru, a romance novelist, a violinist, a couple of boys from LCHS, and some brilliant Caltech students, and what you get is Shakespeare’s “As You Like It!”

Running weekends from Feb. 17 through March 4 in Caltech’s Ramo Auditorium, “As You Like It” is an exuberant celebration of life, love, and second chances. Spunky Rosalind (Karen Kähler) falls in love with down-on-his-luck Orlando (Jon Napolitano), but circumstances force them to flee separately to the Forest of Arden. But once Rosalind, now disguised as a boy, meets Orlando again, what’s a girl to do? Why, act like a boy who’s pretending to be a girl, of course! Shakespeare’s fairytale comedy also features comic fools, vain shepherdesses, an exiled duke who holds court in the forest, and the melancholy Jaques (Steve Collins), who knows that “All the world’s a stage.”

The play is produced by TACIT (Theater Arts at the California Institute of Technology), which brings Caltech students together with Caltech faculty and staff, JPL employees, and other community members to share their varied backgrounds and create vibrant theater. Directing the production is Shirley Marneus, who co-teaches Caltech’s Shakespeare course with Professor Jenijoy La Belle. With a past in local theater and Hollywood studios that included producing Shakespeare in L.A. parks and fitting shoes on Judy Garland, Marneus has directed Caltech theater productions for over t30 years. She says, “‘As You Like It’ is a play that I’ve wanted to do for years and years. Thirty-six years, to be precise. I waited until I had the ideal cast.”

Marneus has directed 12 of Shakespeare’s plays for TACIT, but she considers “As You Like It” one of the Bard’s very best. “Shakespeare only wrote three true romances,” she says, “and this is the most beloved, and lovely, of the three. What makes ‘As You Like It’ special is that Shakespeare is so truthful and profound in this play, while still being extremely amusing. And I am thrilled with this cast.”

La Cañada High School student Niels Hauksson, who first performed with TACIT as the Little Boy in its 2001 production of “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” plays the comically lovelorn shepherd Silvius. Also appearing are Zachary Abbott (Duke Frederick), Michael Patrick Breen (Amiens), Todd Brun (Oliver), Kyle Collins (William), Nicholas Fette (musician), Lisa Keppel (Audrey), Cara King (Celia), Daniel McLaury (Charles), Oluwatosin Otitoju (Juno), Edward Park (Jaques de Boys), Craig Peterson (Corin), Trevor Roper (Sir Oliver Martext), David Seal (Touchstone), Doug Smith (Duke Senior), Miranda Stewart (La Belle), Sloane Wiktorowicz (Adam), and Cecilia Yu (Phebe). Rounding out the ensemble are Parag Bhayani, LCHS student Michael Creim, James Karnesky, Dan Pragel, John Sadowski, and Geoffrey Smith.

Performances of “As You Like It” are at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays through March 3. Matinees are 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19, Sunday, Feb. 26, and Saturday, March 4. There will be a special encore performance at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 5 at the Huntington Library in San Marino. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for Caltech faculty/staff/JPL, and $5 for students. The matinee at the Huntington (Friends’ Hall, east side of entrance plaza) is free of charge. For more information, call the Caltech ticket office at (626) 395-4652, or visit www.tacit.caltech.edu and click “Tickets.”