As You Like It
By William Shakespeare
Presented by Plague Mask Players in 2021
“There is a new theater group in town and the good news is that they are good, really good. Like this cannot really be their first live show good. The Plague Mask Players are not actually new, they have been zooming around through much of the pandemic. They have now landed at MainStage 222 Irving - Las Colinas with an updated, inclusive, gender fluid take on Shakespeare’s As You Like It and it is a big-time winner. Director Samantha Calatozzo Cobb, founder of The Plague Mask Players, directs this joyous journey into an urban Arden”
“If it sounds like I am heaping praise on this production, I am. For The Plague Mask Players to achieve this kind of success in their first stage production is just this side of miraculous. It is a marvelous evening of theater that does the Bard of Avon proud. I have only one question for this immensely talented troupe, what’s next?”
-Doug Sturdivant, DFW Center Stage
Crafting classic stories for modern & diverse audiences…
The goal of this staging was to create a lively, energetic play with a modern and diverse cast. Intentional choices were made to stage the story in a restrictive, bland world that opens into a colorful Arden. This version changed the gender of many of the characters to provide more strong roles for women and highlight a queer romance.
Changes Made:
-Celia was played as a gay man (Giving Oliver & Celia a queer relationship)
-Adam became a strong female housekeeper (A La Downtown Abbey)
-Interracial Rosalind & Orlando with only seeking to cast Black Male Lead as Orlando
-Charles The Wrestler became a Black Female Boxer
-Both Dukes were played by and as women
Plague Mask Players
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