“We are Arden … this place may feel familiar wherever you are from,” cast members sing at the top of Folger Theatre’s joyous, celebratory new staging of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Conceived by Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels as a “love letter to DC,” the Folger’s exuberant production offers a light-hearted tonic for the troubled times the city — and the world — finds itself in. Tightly directed by Timothy Douglas per Daniels’ vision, the Folger production takes the central dichotomy of Shakespeare’s comedy — life under the tyrannical strictures of Duke Frederick’s court versus the freedoms of life in the Forest of Arden — and light-handedly applies it to the nation’s capital. Beyond the soul-killing intrigue and political theater of Capitol Hill, this staging suggests, lies a more vibrant, colorful world of laughter, music, art, self-discovery, and, yes, love.
That world is evoked in the Go-Go–inspired opening number (a music style born in DC) and recalled throughout the production in the brightly colored murals and wall graffiti that serve as the backdrop to this Arden and are iconic to many DC neighborhoods. (Plaudits to lyricist and sound designer Miki Vale and composer Kokayi for the original song “We Are Arden” and to scenic designer Gisela Estrada for the vibrant, eye-catching murals.) Into this urban forest escape the heroine Rosalind (a wonderfully dynamic Tsilala Brock) and her best friend, Celia (an equally dynamic Sabrina Lynne Sawyer), daughter of the tyrannical usurper Duke Frederick (a fittingly severe Jefferson A. Russell, who also plays Frederick’s outcast, amiable brother, Duke Senior). The women are accompanied by the clown Touchstone, played with magnetic exuberance and occasional slapstick by Ahmad Kamal, enlivening every moment the fool appears onstage. Director Timothy Douglas has several actors, such as Russell, assume one role at court and another in the forest, thus sharpening the distinction between the repressive existence at one and the freedoms of the other.
Arden is, it turns out, a transgressive space, where women can assume the likeness and authority of men — which they are denied elsewhere — and where lowly shepherds can lecture presumptuous courtiers. In this production, it is also a majority-minority space (the cast is primarily African American and Latino), echoing the historical makeup of the city beyond the shadow of the Capitol dome. The dome looms large in the first act (at court), where a monochromatic backdrop image of it contrasts sharply with the colorful variety of Arden beyond. That contrast is delightfully set off by Celeste Jennings’ bright, motley array of costumes for the forest inhabitants, including West African–style dashiki dress for Duke Senior and a retro-punk kilt skirt and jackboots for actor-musician John Sygar’s Amiens. (Sygar sings and accompanies himself on guitar in several short settings of Shakespeare’s original songs and commands attention in the smaller roles of Duke Frederick’s courtier LeBeau and Duke Senior’s friend Amiens.)
Into the urban forest that is Arden also comes Orlando, the play’s principal male protagonist (a compellingly sympathetic Manu Kumasi). He is escaping his tyrannical brother, “Ollie” (an effective Terrance Fleming), but is soon preoccupied with writing ham-fisted love poems to Rosalind, which he attaches to the forest trees (here, pillars electrified in different colors, depending on the setting). There is a strong suggestion that Orlando is an artist himself, perhaps even a graffiti artist, but in the course of the play, it is the art of wooing that he must learn from Ganymede (Rosalind disguised as a teenage boy). The ironies and contradictions exposed in the wooing scenes between Orlando and the disguised Rosalind are, as Shakespeare no doubt intended, among the most enjoyable in this thoroughly enjoyable production.
In truth, there’s more talk than plot here in what may be the Bard’s frothiest, or perhaps most Seinfeld-ian, comedy. But all-around strong acting and artful production elements more than make up for any plot points Shakespeare omitted. Appropriate to a play about foolishness — in love or, more dangerously, at court — this production includes much running about, breaking of the fourth wall (including call-outs to the audience), a fair amount of slapstick and ad lib, and even some attention to the neglected unicorn on the Folger’s decoratively painted ceiling. (Check out the words painted just below it, and note: in the Renaissance, unicorns represented the wild, untamed qualities of nature.)
If “all the world’s a stage,” as the melancholy courtier Jaques (confidently played by Nikkole Salter) asserts, then Arden is the place people go to try out new and different roles. What transformations may not take place when overbearing structures of authority, outworn social codes, or stereotyped gender roles are lifted? In Arden, Rosalind can engage Orlando as an equal, if not his better, and stage-manage a series of marriages, including her own; the tyrants Frederick and Ollie can be converted on the instant by the transformative power of nature and its ministers; and the humble but devoted shepherd Silvius (movingly played by Joey Collins) can teach his social betters something about the true nature of love. Foolish, perhaps. Authentic? certainly.
Anything is possible here in Arden. Just look about you.
Running Time: Two hours and 35 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
As You Like It plays through April 12, 2026, at the Folger Theatre in the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC. Accessible performances and related programming will be offered throughout the run of the production and are listed on the show page. Tickets ($20–$90) are available online or by calling the Folger box office at (202) 544-7077. Tickets are also available on TodayTix.
Credits for the cast and creative team are online here. The program is online here.
As You Like It
Envisioned by Folger Theatre Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels
Directed by Timothy Douglas
SEE ALSO:
Folger Theatre announces cast and creative team for ‘As You Like It’ (news story, February 11, 2026)
