First Folio Theatre presents As You Like It under the stars

The First Folio Theatre summer season always includes an outdoor production, which is a treat for the audience and cast alike. Set on a large stage on the beautiful Mayslake Peabody Estate, First Folio always manages to bring its creative genius to this summer tradition.

This year, As You Like It, greets the audience with a timeless story that leaves the audience laughing. Shakespeare wrote As You Like It in the love tringle tradition where boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl find each other. Here is works as the audience is aware of every step, even as the characters' mishaps seem to doom the young couple.

As You Like It is a really fun and funny production. Even Jacques, with his world-weary, yet edgy, sadness, provides comical turns. The story follows to upper class girls who are banished from court. They find themselves using their considerable charms to survive in the forest. One of the girls, Rosalind, disguises herself as a boy while her cousin Celia disguises herself as a peasant girl. They discover that their court skills won't help them in the forest, so they develop other skills to settle into their new lives. Of course, this being a Shakespeare play, nothing runs smoothly until the characters wind their way to their happy ending.

The outdoor setting is perfect for a play set in a forest. Guests are invited to bring their own chairs or blankets, often with picnic baskets and small tables. In a nod to the realities of an outdoor production, First Folio provides plenty of free bug spray.

Attending an outdoor theatre production is truly a summer delight. As You Like It makes it even more enjoyable by being a wonderful production full of terrific performances by a mix of new and established actors. The frivolity under the stars is something not to be missed this summer.

As You Like It runs through August 20 at Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook. There is plenty of free parking. For tickets, visit www.firstfolio.org or call 630-986-8067.

Photo credit

First Folio Theatre
AS YOU LIKE IT
All photos by Maia Rosenfeld Photography, LLC

Pictured: Leslie Ann Sheppard (Rosalind), Courtney Abbott (Touchstone), & Vahishta Vafadari (Celia)