BRANT RUSSELL
© Brant Russell 2024

AS YOU LIKE IT

A NEW MUSICAL

COMPANY

For Cincinnati Shakespeare Company – 04/2023


By William Shakespeare Music & Lyrics by Cary Davenport

Text adapted by Jemma Levy & Brant Russell


World Premiere


Featuring: Courtney Lucien, Angelique Archer, Geoffrey Warren Barnes II, Billy Chace, Colleen Dougherty, Hannah Gregory, Candice Handy, Jennifer Joplin, Sara Mackie, Barry Mulholland, Rachel Perin, Patrick Earl Phillips, K. P. Powell, Rupert Spraul, Cary Davenport, and Erin McCamley

Band: Erin McCamley (keyboards & musical director), Cary Davenport (rhythm guitar), Joseph Memory (bass), Nathan Singer (lead guitar), and Lindsay Augusta Mercer (drums)


All photos by Mikki Schaffner


Samantha Reno – Scenic Designer
Rainy Edwards – Costume Designer
Jessica Drayton – Lighting Designer
Zack Bennett – Sound Designer
Kara Eble Trusty – Properties Designer
Robert Carlton Stimmel – Projection Designer
Gina Cerimele-Mechley – Fight Director
Rachel Perin – Choreographer
Jemma Alix Levy – Text Coach/ Dramaturg
Brenna Bishop – Production Stage Manager
Cole Sweasy – Assistant Stage Manager


LINKS TO REVIEWS

Director Brant Russell from UC’s College Conservatory of Music, provides a fresh perspective while hammering home the key parts of the show–the love story and the comedy. He and Jemma Alix Levy adapted the script. But to make it really smell like teen spirit, he adds a lot of 90’s era music, and capitalizes on the contrasting words and expectations. – League of Cincinnati Theaters

But with a fully-committed reimagining, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company provides clarity of plot and comfortingly familiar visuals to make an approachable adaptation. Sure, it’s not traditional, but you can take it As You Like It. – League of Cincinnati Theaters

Shakespeare nerds need not fear that the silliness of As You Like It is diluted by this modernization, staged by Brant Russell, who chairs the acting department at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music. He keeps all the comic plates spinning and uses the musical numbers to underscore the characters' simple emotions. - Talkin' Broadway

Translating Shakespeare's play into other times and settings is risky business, but this production of As You Like It, admittedly one of Shakespeare's most lightweight plays, makes a strong case for how the process can work. - Talkin' Broadway