Stage Review - As You Like I (Original Theatre Black Dog)
Stage Review - As You Like It
Presented By: The Original Theatre Black Dog - Seattle, WA
Show Run: December 04 - December 21, 2025
Date Reviewed: Saturday, December 13, 2025
Run Time: 2 Hours, 10 Minutes (including a 10-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, written around 1599, is one of his most inviting comedies — a pastoral tale that blends romance, banishment, disguise, and self-discovery. The play follows Rosalind, daughter of a deposed duke, who is banished from court and escapes into the Forest of Arden disguised as a young man, accompanied by her cousin Celia and the court fool Touchstone. In Arden, identities blur, love is tested, and enemies find redemption as characters navigate longing, wit, and forgiveness. The Original Theatre Black Dog’s production, now on stage at TPS Theatre 4 at the Seattle Center Armory through December 21, embraces both the humor and emotional depth of the play, offering a thoughtful and often enchanting evening of Shakespeare.
Directed by Nathan Jackson, who also serves as scenic and sound designer, the production establishes a clear tonal divide between the rigidity of court life and the freedom of the forest, but in a way that skews toward the uncomplicated, focusing on performance rather than flash. The scenic design is largely static, anchored by a multi-level platform that functions as a vehicle for the movement throughout the play, allowing characters to rise, descend, observe, and engage dynamically, while the border of the stage is adorned with forest accoutrements — trees on which Orlando posts his notes to his beloved Rosalind, along with leaves and limbs that frame the space and suggest the canopy of Arden. The result is an intentionally theatrical environment that invites imagination rather than realism.
The visual palette leans dark, particularly in the court scenes, reinforcing the severity of Duke Frederick’s rule. Costume designer Gayle Oney provides a clear differentiation between the two courts through wardrobe choices. Duke Frederick’s court is dressed in black and more formal attire, emphasizing control, hierarchy, and emotional rigidity. By contrast, Duke Senior’s exiled court in Arden wears costumes that are darker but more earthy in tone, grounding the characters in the natural world and reinforcing the forest as a place of renewal rather than oppression. Though both worlds share a muted palette, the subtle shift in texture and color helps clarify the emotional differences between them. These darker tones, while distinct, also serve to make Touchstone stand out even more clearly as a visual outlier.
Lighting designer Tenesia Knudsen complements these choices by softening the space once the action moves into Arden. Rather than relying on scenic changes, the production uses lighting to open the world emotionally, especially in scenes around the campfire, where the light lends the forest a mythic, restorative quality.
From an acting perspective, there are productions that feel intentionally designed as showcases for a particular performer. This As You Like It feels very much like that kind of production — as though it exists to present Tamara Burgess as one of the most versatile and emotionally fluent actors working in the Seattle theatre scene. As Rosalind, Tamara captures the character’s intelligence, vulnerability, and romantic idealism with ease. She is convincingly loveswept, swooning over Kowan Russell’s Orlando, yet never losing sight of Rosalind’s emotional truth.
Kowan brings a sincere and earnest quality to Orlando, pairing well with Tamara’s energy. Their chemistry grows naturally, particularly after the move into Arden. Early on, Kowan makes a strong impression in the wrestling match, staged with clarity and physical confidence and choreographed by Jayton Newbury. Michael Galvin, appearing as the wrestler, wears a striking red costume — a visual flourish that underscores the danger of the moment while giving it a slightly heightened, theatrical edge.
It is in disguise, however, that Tamara’s work truly shines. As Ganymede, she toys with Orlando as though he were a cat and she the one holding the string — playful, teasing, and entirely in control. What makes the performance especially compelling is that Tamara never fully lets go of the lovesick Rosalind underneath the disguise. The male Ganymede becomes a trickster figure, but one constantly revealing glimpses of the woman beneath. This layering — woman playing a man playing a woman — is handled with impressive clarity and emotional precision, particularly in Act II when the male Ganymede asks Orlando to “woo him”, to pretend that he is, in fact, the Rosalind of his dreams. Tamara’s ability to navigate these shifting identities while keeping the emotional through-line intact demonstrates a deep understanding of Shakespeare’s language and character construction.
The bond between Rosalind and Celia is another strength of the production. Brianna Mawcinitt brings warmth and grounding to Celia, and her chemistry with Tamara is immediate and believable. Their relationship feels sibling-like, rooted in trust and shared history, and that closeness carries through their journey into exile and their time traveling incognito in Arden. Even in disguise, their connection remains intact, lending emotional weight to scenes that might otherwise feel purely comic.
The supporting cast adds texture and contrast throughout. Tenesia Knudsen, appearing onstage as Touchstone, offers a bold and unexpected interpretation — costumed at one point as a modern tourist in a purple outfit, green Crocs, and glittered eyes. Against the darker, more restrained costumes of both courts, Touchstone’s look reinforces the character’s status as an outsider and commentator, visually and thematically. Tenesia’s physicality and comic instincts keep the character lively without pulling focus from the story. In contrast, Macy de Champlain provides a contemplative counterbalance as Jaques. His delivery of “All the world’s a stage” is measured and strong, allowing the speech to land, in concert with Tenesia’s lighting of the moment, as reflection rather than parody, briefly stilling the production in a moment of quiet observation.
Michael Ramquist takes on the dual roles of Duke Frederick and Duke Senior with clear physical and vocal distinctions — hard versus soft, rigid versus open — reinforcing the play’s themes of power and transformation. Amit Rosenburg follows a well-defined redemption arc as Oliver, marked by shifts in posture, demeanor, and costuming that signal the character’s internal change without overstating it. He’s practically a repulsive character at the outset of the story, but through some tortuous experiences, softens and becomes just about the most likable by the end of the play.
The ensemble handles Shakespeare’s many supporting roles with confidence, maintaining clarity even as identities overlap and plots intertwine. Movement across the multi-level set is purposeful and fluid, allowing the storytelling to remain visually active despite the largely static design.
By the time As You Like It reaches its many reconciliations and unions, this production feels both playful and sincere. The Original Theatre Black Dog delivers a thoughtful interpretation that honors Shakespeare’s humor while giving space to emotional resonance. Anchored by a standout performance from Tamara Burgess and supported by cohesive design and strong ensemble work, this As You Like It offers a rewarding journey into the Forest of Arden — and a compelling reminder of the power of transformation, both onstage and within the characters who inhabit it.
The Original Theatre Black Dog production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It runs on stage at TPS Theatre4 at the Seattle Center Armory through December 21. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://www.theatreblackdog.com/#/.
Photo credit: Anthony Floyd
