Critic Review

“My thoughts on The Plague Mask Players As You Like It…or I am moving to Arden.

There is a new theater group in town and the good news is that they are good, really good. Like this cannot really be their first live show good. The Plague Mask Players are not actually new, they have been zooming around through much of the pandemic. They have now landed at MainStage 222 Irving - Las Colinas with an updated, inclusive, gender fluid take on Shakespeare’s As You Like It and it is a big-time winner. Director Samantha Calatozzo Cobb, founder of The Plague Mask Players, directs this joyous journey into an urban Arden aided by Jared Cobb who music directs and composed the music that is so beautifully interpreted by the singer/actors Tristan Routzon, Ilaija Perez, and Siara Obasuyi. This young trio with their mellifluous, haunting voices is but one of the reasons that this production is first rate.

As You Like It is an excellent choice for The Plague Mask Players first staged outing. The play is basically a romp with serious overtones. Many of Shakespeare’s themes and devices appear in this play. Hidden identity, reversal of fortune, gender roles, and court vs. country are all evident here. It is a fun and endearing play to read and, with this cast, to watch. Director Calatozzo Cobb has assembled the perfect group of players. This is a show where the entire cast gives their all for two fast paced and laugh filled hours. Savannah Lloyd is a charming lovestruck Rosalind, who with a turn of a baseball cap becomes a captivating and convincing Ganymede. As her love Orlando, Leon Watson is stage gold with his perfect delivery and gives Orlando a slightly naïve quality that enhances the character. As Celia, Rosalind’s cousin and ally, Campbell Bovaird gives what may be the comedy performance of the season. In a role that could have so easily fallen into a campy, over the top stereotype, Bovaird’s Celia is understated, making small gestures that suggest femininity. This makes Celia even more hilarious and appealing. Bovaird’s rapport with Lloyd’s Rosalind is just magic. It’s quick, witty, and genuine. Bovaird also shines in his scenes with the dashing Oliver played with great vigor by Eduardo Vildasol. Vildasol, who has a powerful stage presence, shows some fine acting skills as he goes from a tough Mafioso type threatening his brother Orlando in Act I to the puppy dog eyed inamorato of Celia in the final act. Joel Frapart, dressed all in black, is an ideal melancholy Jacques who always seems happy to be sad amid all the love and happiness that abounds in Arden. Frapart delivers Shakespeare’s famous “All the world’s a stage” speech expertly. I believe that Shakespeare would have chosen Robby Dullnig himself to play Touchstone. Dullnig as Touchstone, the wise fool, has a wonderful physical presence and a compelling delivery. His scenes courting the shepherdess Audrey, played by the delightful Meredith Salter, are outstanding. As Duke Frederick and Duke Senior, Alida Liberman and Samantha Johnson respectively rule the stage. Liberman captures all the anger of Duke Frederick with the darkness of her costume reflecting the darkness in her soul, whereas Johnson’s Duke Senior is rational and more amiable looking resplendent in red high heels. Spencer Walsh is a terrific physical comedian and is great fun to watch as the shepherd Silvius who is smitten with the young shepherdess Phebe, who is played to the flirty, flouncing hilt by Emily Otto. As Corin, the shepherd and ally of Silvius, Keidrick Goss has perfected comic relief making Corin act and sound a bit like a 16th Century Richard Simmons. KJ James provides excellent support as both the aged Adam and the festively dressed Hymen, God of marriage. When she is not part of the singing trio, Siara Obasuyi, plays three characters, the best of which is the tough talking Charles the wrestler. Dressed like Olivia Newton-John at the end of Grease, Obasuyi certainly looks like she could take Orlando two out of three falls in what is one of the best staged fight scenes I have seen in many moons. The other singing trio members, Tristan Routzon as Amiens, one of the lords attending Duke Senior, and Ilaiya Perez as both the servant Dennis and William, a country boy in love with Audrey, act as beautifully as they sing.

If it sounds like I am heaping praise on this production, I am. For The Plague Mask Players to achieve this kind of success in their first stage production is just this side of miraculous. It is a marvelous evening of theater that does the Bard of Avon proud. I have only one question for this immensely talented troupe, what’s next?”

— Doug Sturdivant, DFW Theater Critic