RCP's Shakespeare Players will present As You Like It at the Highland Park Bowl July 5 to 19, 2008.  Admission is free and donations will be accepted at the Bowl.  The production is directed by John Jaeger and is co-sponsored by the Monroe County Parks Department. Ten performances are scheduled on the following nights:

Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6
Tuesday, July 8 and Wednesday, July 9
Friday, July 11 and Sunday, July 13
Tuesday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 16
Friday, July 18* and Saturday, July 19 

*Note: the performance Friday July 18 will be interpreted for the deaf

All performances will start at 8:00 PM.  The Highland Park Bowl is at 1200 South Avenue, Rochester NY (Corner of South and Reservoir; click here for map)  Note: there is no performance July 12, due to a concert at the Bowl.  The Thursday night Movies at the Bowl series starts July 3 (see our Movies at the Bowl page.)

Light refreshments will be served at the Bowl at each performance.  Normal Monroe County Parks Department rules apply as to bringing food and beverages to the Highland Park Bowl.  It is advisable to bring a lawn chair or a blanket.

Since 1997, RCP's Shakespeare Players program has produced a dozen Shakespearian epics.  Many from the cast of last year's epic Romeo & Juliet return to this production, including Colista Turner (last year's Juliet, this year's Roseline).  John Jaeger, the director, describes the production using such adjectives as fast-paced, over-the-top, and outrageous.  He considers the play to be Shakespeare's most subversive of traditional values and a revolution against traditional mores.

As with most Shakespearian comedies, the plot of As You Like It is spectacularly convoluted.  The play starts in the Fall, survives a grim Winter, reawakens in the Spring, and love triumphs in the end, in the fullness of Summer. The story mostly takes place in the mythical Forest of Arden in France in some non-specific past.   Duke Frederick has exiled his older brother, Duke Senior, who's daughter Rosalind is close friends to Frederick's only child, Celia. A young nobleman, Orlando, has fallen in love with Rosalind, but he has been forced to flee the court by his brother, Oliver. When Frederick banishes Rosalind from court, Celia joins her in the Arden Forest, with Rosalind disguised as a young man, "Ganymede" and Celia disguised as Ganymede's sister, "Aliena".

The exiled Duke Senior lives in the forest with his band of merry men, including the famously melancholy Jacques.  Orlando also joins Duke Senior in the forest and takes to writing poems of love to Roselyn and posting them on the forest trees. Rosalind, as "Ganymede", meets Orlando and advises him how to get over his love.  "Ganymede"pretends to take Rosalind's place so that "he" and Orlando can act out the Roseline-Orlando relationship.

Meanwhile, the shepherd Silvius is in love with a local farm girl, Phebe, who has, in turn, fallen in love with "Ganymede", who is, of course, actually Roseline who is in love with Orlando while Celia falls for his brother Oliver after Oliver repents his bad ways, but Oliver has fallen for "Aliena", Celia's false identity.  Plot spoiler: all are happily brought together in the end.

Colista Turner (Roseline) is beseeched by James Heath (Orlando, as Judy Molner (Celia, right) looks on

James Heath (Orlando) receives instructions from director John Jaeger

Judy Molner as Celia, friend to Roseline

Our 2007 Summer Shakespeare at the Bowl production was Romeo & Juliet, For a link to some nice Romeo & Juliet photos taken by photographer, Ron Kalasinskas, see this link at RochesterForKids.com  (photos - "Romeo and  Juliet at Highland Bowl", located on the photo index, right-hand side, just above Mt. Hope Cemetery, Douglass-Anthony Memorial Bridge, and Corn Hill Arts Festival 2007)

Romeo & Juliet cast list:

Romeo            Jimmy Stadt
Juliet                Colista Turner
Mercutio        Jonathan Ntheketha
Benvolio        Peter Giordano
Paris                Peter Cayer
Tybalt            Brad Holzer
Capulet           John Jaeger
Lady Capulet        Judy Molner
Escalus            Terry Brennan
Montague        Jim Valone
Lady Montague    Kathy Dauer
Nurse            Maria Scipione
Friar Lawrence    Tom Bohrer
Chorus            Ken Dauer
Sampson        Zach Reeb
Gregory           Shawn Farrell
Abram            Jim Heath
Balthasar        Marcy Savastano
Officer            Patrick White
Train of  Prince Escalus   Konrad Emmet, Ken Dauer
 Servant        Didrik Soderstrom
Cousin Capulet ("2nd Capulet)        Kelly Flegel
Peter            Frank Hartley
Montague Guys    Jim Heath, Ed Byrne, Crescenzo Scipione
Capulet Guys        Zach Reeb, Shawn Farrell, Katelyn Machnica
Apothecary        Ed Byrne
Friar John        Patrick White
Chief Watchman    Ken Dauer
2nd Watchman        Kelly Flegel
3rd Watchman        Konrad Emmert
Citizens, Guests, and Members of the Ensemble:: Don Meyer, Katelyn Machnica, Crystal Taylor, Michael Johnson, Daniel Horrocks, Brandon Fisher, Kelly Flegel, Jessamyn Slon
Crescenzo Scipione