What Would Shakepeare Say — About Paris?

A purist’s skin would crawl at the liberties director Tony Simotes has taken with Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” But the glow of the acting shines through all the theatrical high jinx. It’s a joy. Simotes has updated the play to 1920s Paris, a place of gaiety and ebullience, in which people strive to put The Great War behind them as the world slides toward the next horrific destruction to come. The plot has many of Shakespeare’s familiar conceits: hidden identities, women posing as men, reformed villains, royalty and country rubes, a search for loved ones and plenty of romance. After being banished to the Forest of Arden, Orlando (Tony Roach) meets his beloved Rosalind (Merritt Janson) who has disguised herself as a young man, Ganymede. Accompanied by her cousin Celia (Kelley Curran) and the court clown Touchstone (Jonathan Epstein), Rosalind searches for her exiled father Duke Senior (Johnny Lee Davenport.) In addition to the romantic stories of the bumpkins Phebe (Dana Harrison) and Silvius (Ryan Winkles,) Touchstone and the promiscuous Audrey (Jennie M. Jadow,) Celia and Oliver (Josh Aaron McCabe,) Orlando’s reformed brother, there is the more somber tone of Duke Senior and his followers as they recall their fallen comrades of the “War to End All Wars.” The prologue introduces the major characters as they dance and sing “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie.” Looming over this moment of frivolity is the presence of the melancholy and cynical Jaques, portrayed by an androgynous Tod Randolph. The move into Arden releases the spirits of the actors, and the characters, as they perform well-timed slapstick, pratfalls, acrobatics, song and dance. Janson is a dynamo as Rosalind with a rich and vigorous performance. Roach captures Orlando’s early anger about his brother’s punishments and then falls victim to his subsequent frustration and confusion as he believes he is in love with Rosalind’s male counterpart Ganymede. Epstein’s Touchstone is a highlight of the production. He entertainingly peppers his numerous aphorisms with double meanings. Randolph’s Jaques is nuanced as she glides through the play delivering her comments and insights as though she were an ethereal spirit issuing words of caution to those who will listen. The Forest of Arden is usually designed as a bucolic paradise. In contrast, designer Sandra Goldmark’s simple set uses miniatures of Parisian buildings, foliage and hillocks backed by silhouetted bare trees that are beautiful to look at but made ominous at various times by Les Dickert’s atmospheric lighting. The entire company is spot on with the energetic and thoughtful work that enhances Shakespeare’s intentions and Simotes’ interpretation. “As You Like It” runs at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, through Sept. 4. For tickets and information, call 413-637-3353.