Rick Lombardo's As You Like It

William Shakespeare is the most profound and impactful playwright of European theater. One reason his legacy still continues to this day is because of the deep, symbolic messages in his stories. This is shown in his play As You Like It, when he illustrates throughout the script the importance of community. As seen with Director Rick Lombardo’s production of the play, this theme is illustrated through visual design and musical elements. Additionally, more depth is found through the character Rosalind, who is able to relate to the audience while also driving forward the plot.
In As You Like It, Director Lombardo makes some important changes in order to emphasize the story’s lessons and themes. One change is the costumes, a visual design element

In Duke Frederick’s court, there is little music. Mainly, it is played in the background, and has a fast-paced, intense rhythm, as used in Orlando’s wrestling scene. In contrast, music is used frequently by the characters who live in the forest. As seen with Duke Senior’s followers, the music has lyrics, is about love, is used to reinforce positive thoughts and emotions, and involves multiple people for each song. Not only is there a group of instrument-players, but there are multiple singers for each song as well. With these factors, once again a sense of community is reinforced. In the forest, music is about bringing people together and lifting their spirits; it is also used as a way to further connect the individuals participating in the music. This is because Duke Senior’s court prioritizes community and love, and their style of music—from the beat to the lyrics to the amount of people involved—reflects their true values. Meanwhile, the music of Duke Frederick’s court, is not supposed to make the audience feel welcome or happy. Instead, it is supposed to be intimidating and foreboding, because Shakespeare is trying to emphasize the importance of valuing community over individualism. With his approach to the musical elements of the play, Director Lombardo is able to accurately, powerfully enforce this

Specifically, her turning point--when she is banished--early in the play has major significance. In the first few scenes, Rosalind is shown to be a happy, carefree girl. However, once she is banished, she transforms immediately into an independent, mature, strong woman. This is because in the moment, Rosalind had to choose if she wanted to survive. Being banished meant she would be on her own without any resources or help. She easily could have given into the despair--and for a few minutes, as she was mourning, she did. However, she quickly pushed aside the fear and sadness, and made the decision to do what she needed in order to survive. In this moment, survival was her goal, and she made the choice to pursue it. She was able to convince Celia and Touchstone to come with her, and she disguised herself as a man so she could provide for the group. The actor playing Rosalind was able to portray this transformation in several ways. First is her demeanor, which turns incredibly quickly from despair into a motivated, almost-happy state as she is plotting her new life. This shows how quickly Rosalind not only made her decision, but adapted to her new circumstances. Additionally, the actor seems to gain confidence for her character. Rosalind is soon afterwards able to depict herself as a man to others, and achieve future goals later in the story. While these are the character’s actions, the actress herself,