As You Like It (The Public) NYC Reviews and Tickets

88%

(27 Reviews)

Positive

96%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Entertaining, Delightful, Enchanting, Great staging, Funny

About the Show

The Public Theater presents a free outdoor musicalization of Shakespeare's comedy, a dreamlike tale of faithful friends, feuding families, and lovers in disguise.

Forced from their homes, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind, and his niece Celia escape to the Forest of Arden, a fantastical place of transformation where all are welcomed and embraced. Lost amidst the trees, the refugees find community and acceptance under the stars. Part of the Public Theater's Public Works series, which brings professional artists and community members together to create ambitious works of participatory theater.

Member Reviews (27)

Delightful, Well written, Strong leads, Great spirit, Fast paced

See it if you respond to a joyful, tuneful show. Altho some scenes are unpolished, the evening flies by in a happy glow. Funny, sweet, inspiring.

Don't see it if you want traditional Shakesp. Most important ideas/characters are here, but not many of his lines. Who cares when this AYLI is so much fun!? Read more

Refreshing, Joyful, Great music, Exciting, Surprising

See it if you like the mission of the Public Works program. It's not a shiny polished gem, but it's not trying to be and that's part of the magic.

Don't see it if you aren't interested in a show that has valued community engagement over elite production values.

Spectacular pageantry with tuneful score

See it if The best yet of the Delacorte Labor Day "pageants." Shaina Taub wrote a great score and plays an amusing Jaques. The other leads are good

Don't see it if Eye-popping staging with well choreographed troupes of dancers, acrobats and children. Animal puppets were great. The giant lion was awesome Read more

Entertaining, Great staging, Dizzying, Refreshing

See it if you want to support the wonderful Public Works projects. A fun-filled evening that makes Shakespeare accessable to all. Truly worthwhile.

Don't see it if you are a Shakespeare purist.

Clever, Delightful, Enchanting, Entertaining, Great staging

See it if enjoy a joyful musical Shakespeare interpretation that has a cast of 100's. Great spectacle complete with appropriate prose

Don't see it if you prefer a strict interpretation of the Bard's work

Ambitious, Entertaining, Great staging

See it if you want outrageous fun and don't mind Shakespeare being tossed and turned. Very updated with multi ethnic cast, rock groups...a musical.

Don't see it if If you want pure Shakespeare. This ain't even close.Kinda typical of what Oscar E. does now. Read more

Great acting, Wonderful use of community groups, Inclusive, Wonderful score, Lively

See it if A fun, free show in Central Park is just what you need to take your mind off depressing news.

Don't see it if You prefer your Shakespeare straight. Read more

Enchanting, A lot of fun, Confusing, Dizzying, Great singing/acting

See it if you enjoy updated Shakespeare, outdoor theater, big productions. Charming and sweet if hard to follow the plot. But who cares in the end.

Don't see it if you are a Shakespeare purist. If paring down the story to the point of it not making sense bothers you. A bit chaotic. Read more

Critic Reviews (5)

"Rollicking, poignant and flat-out delightful...At about 100 minutes, it is a brief and generous respite from floods and nukes and violent demonstrations...What makes 'As You Like It' so thrilling is that when the cast is all assembled, it looks like New York City — busy, diverse, terrifically vital...For the optimistic, they are reminders that theater, like democracy, is a collaborative form and that when all those disparate voices come together, the effect can be extraordinary."
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“The story leaps off the stage with sizzling choreography by Sonya Tayeh, the tenderest of vocal arrangements by Shaina Taub and playful direction by Laurie Woolery…It’s wonderful to see the way the Public’s productions in Central Park bring the ideal of the public park into the show…It is an incredible ensemble of diverse and intriguing faces that is gathered for this production emphasizing this community feeling…You can take your kids to this show and they have a good time.”
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"I found this ‘As You Like It’ to be solid entertainment, thanks largely to its spectacular pageantry. In part because of its scale, it isn’t the most subtly rendered version of the story you’re ever likely to see. Its humor runs to the broad (and sometimes self-referential), rather than to the thoughtful and understated. Still, the rapt audience clearly found it winning.”
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"An inspiring rendition...The play briefly covers the romance that ensues between Rosalind and Orlando. Had there been more scenes showing the growing affection for one another, the characters’ chemistry might have appeared stronger. The songs and lyrics were standouts in this work...This adaptation succeeded in bringing Shakespeare’s play about conflict, drama, hope, and life’s inevitable adversities, to life on stage."
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"A thrilling array of our city’s vibrant population is singing, dancing, speechifying, and wrestling up on the stage...What Public Works participants lack in polish and training, they make up for in sheer, unadulterated joy...The presence of such a large and radiant ensemble has a democratizing effect in more ways than one...It can’t be easy to stage so many bodies. Most of the time Woolery made it work, making those instances where the staging doesn’t flow seamlessly stand out all the more."
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