Theater ‘As You Like It’

Free Shakespeare brings The Bard to the Common people

 It’s hot, sticky, and most afternoons the sky looks like the end of the world.

Combine that with massive crowds, grass in your crotch, and some of the best literature known to man and you’ve got Shakespeare in the Park. This year’s three-week run of “As You Like It” promises to make you forget about the sweat building up behind your knees and provide breathtaking performances of one of the greatest love stories ever told.

“It’s always a challenge to fill the space on the Boston Common. It’s a very big theater!” says Steven Maler, the show’s director. The Common holds about 5,000 people along with their blankets and picnic baskets.

“There is nothing more satisfying than sitting in the beautiful Boston Common, bathing in the words of the best writer who ever put pen to paper.”

Screaming the words of Bill Shakespeare in a grassy area has become a summer tradition. Perhaps it is reminiscent of the old Globe Theater’s outdoor setting or that Boston simply likes to take advantage of winter being very far away, but Shakespeare takes on a unique feel when layered over the sounds of the T and traffic.

“I think audiences respond to the scale and scope of Shakespeare’s vision.  He’s such a theatrical writer, weaving music, dance, fighting and spectacle together.” says Maler.

This year’s production has an extensive list of local talent and will integrate live music into the production. The best part; it’s free. 

“’As You Like It’ is a celebration of love - a journey through darkness and despair and dislocation to reconciliation, love and harmony.” says Maler.  “This production embraces the bitterness of exile, but revels in the celebration of obstacles overcome.”

Shakespeare in the Park
Through August 3
Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common
MBTA: Red/Green Line to Park
Free, 617-482-9393
www.citicenter.org