Image courtesy of Gamut Theatre
Come hither, ye Shakespeare-curious, and get theself yonder to a place called Reservoir Park, where tyrants rant, siblings squabble and lovers cavort.
Okay, no more faux Shakespeare.
But forsooth, even if you know little about William Shakespeare himself, you owe yourself a summer night under the stars for “As You Like It,” the delightful 2026 “Free Shakespeare in the Park” performance by Gamut Theatre Group.
Gamut has assembled a strong and talented cast for one of Shakespeare’s more heartfelt plays. The usual fare of mistaken identity and gender-bending disguise blends seamlessly with genuine emotion, complex relationships and honest comedy.
The play begins with audience interaction, when a balladeer and cast members stroll from the Reservoir Park bandshell’s grassy slope onto the stage, leading a revolution (apparently unsuccessful) against the tyrannical regime.
We’re in a post-apocalyptic city.
In the shadow of a golden, copper-rimmed dome, the ragged have-nots suffer, and the elegant haves have. Graffiti that mars the walls attests to opposing sides of a brotherly power struggle: “Long Live Duke Fred” and “Free Senior.”
Duke Frederick is played by Gamut veteran Preston Schreffler with snarling menace.
Frederick’s wronged brother, Duke Senior, exiled into Arden Forest, is also played by Schreffler as a kind, compassionate leader exhorting his band of loyal lords to enjoy the beauty of nature and make room for two hungry wayfarers.
Then, the plot thickens.
Good ol’ Fred has not only banished his brother to the wilderness—he boots his own niece, Rosalind (under the threat of death, mind you) just for her association with her father. (Boo, hiss.)
But Rosalind and her devoted cousin, Celia, turn oppression into empowerment.
They flee to Arden, with Rosalind disguised as a man and Celia playing the man’s peasant sister.
Eleanor Mund plays the brave, quick-witted Rosalind with bottomless spunk while offering glimpses into the peril of her balancing act between her male persona and female self.
Also in Arden, we find the noble Orlando, our handsome hero. He’s escaping from a sister who has withheld his inheritance, arranged his (failed) assassination in a wrestling match and threatened to burn down his house around him. (Boo, hiss.)
From here, let’s just say that people cross paths and complications ensue.
The production’s designers—Calian Byard, scenic; Tristan Stasiulis, lighting; Noah Smull, sound; Victoria Wojciechowski, costumes; Becky Arney, props—then guide the action seamlessly from the city to rural Appalachia.
Foresters and hikers in brown and olive green greet the visitors. Farmers in overalls live off the land and guide tenderfoots through the woods. Our characters have the space for self-reflection, and in upheaval, find themselves changing in unexpected ways.
The fleeing cousins’ “motley fool” is the character Touchstone, who evolves from urbane and vain to downright feral while chasing his true love, the shepherdess Audrey.
With their saucy interplay, Touchstone, played by Alex Winnick, and Audrey, played by Hope Mackenzie, turn the act of collecting campground trash into a flirtatious romp.
But my personal favorite pairing of the night belonged to Silvius, played by Eliezer Garcia Montoya, and Phebe, played by Aréanna Hope Kroll.
Silvius, besotted for Phebe, has a gullible, nonchalant aura that dovetails with the sharp-edged Phebe. We all know those couples, and even though we wonder, ‘What gives?’, Shakespeare and this production confirm that, when love enters the picture, this combination just works.
Directors Kim Greenawalt and Emily MacLeod keep the pace brisk, efficiently using the scenery and outdoor setting to move the action along uninterrupted.
Sound designer Smull composed tunes for Shakespeare’s lyrics, while other songs were written by cast members Winnick, Mackenzie and Diego Esmolo, ably playing the balladeer Amiens. The tunes are melodic and suited to the moment, from folk-song protest to a “Hey Nonny” so jaunty you’re singing along by the second chorus.
As Orlando, Brendan Wolf is endearingly earnest but determined to overcome the misfortune thrown his way and the shyness that keeps him from professing his love for Rosalind (remember, he thinks she’s a man named Ganymede).
Victoria DeBernardis plays Celia, Rosalind’s cousin, with full Kardashian flair—a privileged A-lister who defies her despotic father and flees into exile with her beloved cousin.
DeBernardis’ drama-llama death throes when she’s starving, absolutely starving, are a hoot, and when love appears, she falls so hard that you can almost see the haze as everything else fades into the background.
A tip for playgoers: Before the show, brush up on the short scene synopses in Gamut’s online program. The plot can get convoluted, and some of the Shakespearean language strays beyond our ken, but knowing what’s happening lets us concentrate on the touching moments, the funny lines, and the expert jostling of a finely tuned cast.
That’s why we ache when the smitten Rosalind, giving Orlando a necklace after his successful wrestling match, confesses, “Sir, you have wrestled well and overthrown more than your enemies.”
The speechless Orlando can only stand mystified that he could wrestle a murderous brute to defeat while wondering “what passion hangs these weights upon my tongue?”
Have no fear about our many lovebirds. “As You Like It” is a boisterous and touching entry in Gamut’s long-running Free Shakespeare in the Park series, an idyllic forest reverie where all’s well that ends well.
For more information on “As You Like It” by the Gamut Theatre Group, visit their site. Performances run June 5 to June 20. Admission is free. Donations are accepted.
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