Like a theatrical clarion call, producers of outdoor Shakespeare summon “As You Like It” to their stages year in a year out. And why not? The light pastoral comedy is full of romance and music, courtly intrigue and betrayal, a good deal of woodland frolicking, and poetry teeming with wit and ingenuity from the period in his career when Shakespeare was at the height of his linguistic powers. It is a play staged in its natural habitat when performed in a park for audiences relaxed on picnic blankets.
And so BlackBoxPAC’s selection of “As You Like It” for their fourth season of Shakespeare in the Park Bergen County at Overpeck Park is at once fitting and a warm contribution to the long tradition of this play in such a setting. Under the direction of Michael Gardiner, the play prances lightly across Overpeck’s amphitheater stage against the backdrop of a night breeze, the smell of cut grass, and any libations that patrons may have chosen to enjoy.