"As You Like It" Opens At Milburn Stone January 27th

Director Marshall B Garrett works on building the "Tree of Life" for Milburn Stone's upcoming production. (all photos - Scott Serio/Cecil Scene)

     Building a stage production is kind of like building the “Tree of Life” for the set of the upcoming production of William Shakespeare’s "As You Like It" at the Milburn Stone Theatre. Initially, you have no idea if the pieces that are being put together will look like anything, then, you look up and wonder how it happened.

     Such is the case for the fourth show at Milburn Stone for director Marshall B Garrett. The 25 year-old Theatre Arts graduate from Illinois Wesleyan University has two more productions in the works, but last Sunday, making that Tree of Life come to life was foremost in his mind.

     “All Shakespeare is made to be performed on an empty stage,” said Garrett.  But then, he says, he started thinking about all the elements of "As You Like It", the Eden imagery, the Tree of Life and the return to innocence and an idea started to form.

     He said, “I was just thinking out loud and wondered, ‘What if they had a big tree they could climb all over, what would that be like?’”  The Tree of Life will be a focal point for much of the second half of the Shakespeare production.

     Here is what Milburn Stone has to say about "As You Like It" in their press release:

Considered by many to be Shakespeare’s greatest romantic comedy, “As You Like It” will be presented in the Milburn Stone Theatre on Cecil College’s North East campus Jan. 27, 28 and 29 and Feb. 3, 4 and 5. Incorporating issues of banishment, cross dressing, a clever clown, and escape into the forest from an evil Duke, “As You Like It” becomes a sort of “greatest hits” piece with elements from “Twelfth Night,” “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Introducing professional actress Carly Stocking as Rosalind, the daughter of the banished duke is in turn banished to the forest, where she decides to dress as a man to avoid potential attackers. Luckily, her wooer, Orlando, played by Russell Matthews; also escapes into the same forest from his scheming older brother. Great love and mistaken identity converge when Orlando meets Rosalind’s male alter ego “Ganymede,” and asks to be taught how to win the love of Rosalind. Additional love stories abound throughout the story, and Rosalind’s banished father oversees all in the magical Forest of Arden.

     This promises to be an excellent chance for Cecil County residents to see a top-flight Shakespeare production close to home without the $150+ sticker shock of a Broadway show.

     The show begins at 8pm on January 27^th, 28^th, February 3rd and 4th, and has a 3 p.m. matinee show on both Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. Tickets, which are $18 for adults, $15 for students/seniors, $10 for children 12 and younger, and $5 for college students with a valid ID, can be purchased by phone at 410-287-1037, at the Milburn Stone Theatre box office, or online at www.milburnstone.org. The box office, located at One Seahawk Drive at Cecil College in North East, Md., is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.