Presented by The Worth Street Theater Company at the Tribeca Playhouse, 111 Reade St., NYC, July 23-Aug. 11.
Worth Street Theater Company's latest project takes them to the projects—literally. Inspired director Jeff Cohen and his game cast have turned Shakespeare's comic romp, "As You Like It," and transported it from an idyllic forest to an urban jungle. The result is a perfect marriage of romance and reality.
Mixing elements of hip-hop, high school, and professional wrestling, the story is now set in the contrasting worlds of an upscale sports agency and a gritty housing project. Rosalind (Sally Wheeler) and her cousin, Celia (Virginia Williams), are mischievous students who are forced to flee their comfortable home life and face the realities of the street. Both find love along the way—along with almost every other character in the play.
Shakespeare's verse lends itself so smoothly to this interpretation that it's easy to imagine him spinning the same yarn if he were around today. Jeff Cohen stages each scene with a flourish, and pulls out all the stops with ribald humor and rap sequences.
The cast members are all exemplary in their mastery of Shakespeare's words and their portrayals of contemporary types. Wheeler and Williams are intoxicating as the young girls embarking on a long, strange trip, and Devin Haaq and Ron Simons make ideal matches for them. Raphael Peacock (replacing an injured Dwight Ewell) is hilarious as Touchstone, a not-so-foolish fool. James Rana is endearing as a young lover, and Liza Lapira is sexy and strong as the object of his affections. Daniel Ahearn, James Martinez, Tanisha Lynn, and David Brown, Jr. are also standouts. Cohen himself steps in as an eccentric Vietnam vet.
Technical elements are uniformly excellent—Raul Abrejo and Matt Myhrum's ever-changing setting, Pamela Kupper's expressive lights, Susan Soetaert's striking costumes, and Fitz Patton's seductive sound design. Rick Hip Flores contributes the mad mix of musical selections.