Department of Theatre Arts Presents William Shakespeare’s "As You Like It"

The University of Louisville Department of Theatre Arts is proud to present William Shakespeare’s "As You Like It," directed by Dr. Ari Calvano. The production will run November 14th-November 23rd at The Playhouse.   

As You Like It has been among the most popular of Shakespeare’s love comedies since its first production, presumably at the Globe Theatre, in the late 1590s. Shakespeare’s celebrated comedy is an adaptation of Thomas Lodge’s Rosalynde (1590), a prose romance popular during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign (1558-1603). Shakespeare’s adaptation of Lodge’s narrative infuses the pastoral landscape with comic subplots and characters, including the melancholic Jaques. In what may be the play’s most famous passage, Jaques proclaims, “All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players” (2.7.140-41). The metatheatrical metaphor was particularly apt during the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, a monarch who savvily crafted a public persona as the Virgin Queen and whose reign witnessed the advent of England’s public theatre.   

If the late Elizabethan world seemed “a stage,” our present reality seems like a circus. Thanks to social media, we are now “merely players” on a truly global stage that offers a variety of competing acts. In keeping with our more circus-like time and in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the Playhouse Theatre in which our show is staged, we adapted As You Like It to the Big Top circa 1926 and infused it with jugglers, acrobats, animal tamers, barkers, and clowns. We hope you like our transformation of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy into the Greatest Shakespearean Show on Earth!  

As You Like It will be performed at the historic Belknap Playhouse on the University of Louisville’s campus. Do not miss your chance to catch this unforgettable story and to celebrate this monumental milestone with us!  

Performance details: 

• Nov. 14th @7:30pm  
• Nov. 15th @7:30pm  
• Nov. 16th @2:00pm  
• Nov. 19th @10:00am  
• Nov. 21st @7:30pm  
• Nov. 22nd @7:30pm  
• Nov. 23rd @2:00pm 

Location: The Playhouse 1911 S. 3rd St Louisville, KY 40208  

Tickets: Tickets are available through the University of Louisville Department of Theatre Arts Box-Office in the Thrust Theatre, online at Louisville.edu/TheatreArts, or call 502-852-6814.