Case Western Reserve University volume xlv, issue 25 friday, 4/11/2014
the
Observer Where do we go from here? Annual job report shows CWRU ranks well compared to peers in job placement for recent undergraduates, but lags behind in average starting salaries
see pg. 2 Arianna Wage/Observer
Great Lakes Theater performs “As You Like It” After the prologue, the play’s first scene opens with a spray of sparks as a man in dingy clothing uses a spinning saw. He is surrounded by grey scenery, which successfully creates the illusion of a smoke-filled factory. The scene is like an image from the Second Industrial Revolution come to life, and is paired with language from 300 years before. Edward Morgan, the director of Great Lakes Theater’s “As You Like It” chose to set Shakespeare’s comedy in the early 20th century for a variety of reasons. “This play is about freedom, equality and making it based on merit,” said
Morgan. “That sounded like Thoreau and transcendentalism.” Morgan also thought Shakespeare’s emphasis on different settings fit this time period well. “The contrast between city dweller and country dweller is really extraordinary,” he said. This struggle between nature and civilization was also important in 20th century America, so the play’s themes and characters transferred well to a more modern setting, Morgan explained. Shakespeare’s characters do fit well into modern roles, and the production’s changes feel true to the Renaissance source. In this production, greedy brothers who crave political power are wealthy Industrialists, and noble charac-
ters forced to flee are nature-loving outdoorsmen. Rosalind, the play’s famously saucy heroine, trades her long satin skirt for breeches when she disguises herself as a boy to escape her wrathful uncle. Betsy Mugavero plays the multi-faceted Rosalind well, and naturally slips in and out of Rosalind’s own creation, the male Ganymede. These character fluctuations, usually in response to Rosalind’s love interest Orlando, are believable in their subtlety. Mugavero transitions between personas gracefully, using tone and body movements that echo her lines. “Shakespeare takes enormous liberties with what women in his play say,” said Charles Fee, the producing artistic director for Great Lakes Theater. “Rosalind is
bending sex roles a lot. The women in this play are like Hamlets, they’re very intelligent. They’re smarter than all the guys.” Rosalind is not the only subversive character in the play. “Orlando is a unique male character,” said Fee. “Rosalind’s shift in a woman’s role is accompanied by a shift in his role. He is often described as gentlemanly.” Torsten Johnson plays the handsome Orlando, an often comic character who ties his love poetry to the boughs of trees. Johnson’s Orlando is persistent but simple in his goodness, and he and Mugavero have good chemistry. They work well together in both romantic and comic scenes.
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pg. 4 New residence hall approved
pg. 8 Old house turned sound space
pg.12 What’s your degree worth?
pg. 15 Tennis breaks in new courts
Ellie Rambo Staff Reporter
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