THE BARD IN BELL BOTTOMS

The comedy "As You Like It" spins a world around a young woman named Rosalind, who is growing up, coming of age and asserting her independence. Though light in weight compared to much of Shakespeare's work, "As You Like It" explores ideas about gender along the way to everybody living happily ever after.

Much of "As You Like It" transpires in the idyllic Forest of Arden. Thus director Dr. Donald Schulte has set the University Players' new production in the 1960s, when hippies lived an idyll of their own.

"As You Like It" opens Friday and continues Saturday and March 2, 3 and 4 at Rose Theatre. All curtains are at 8 p.m. Special performances for schools in the region will be given Monday and Tuesday mornings.

Schulte set the play in a different time "to make it sensible to a contemporary audience." He rejected the eras of the Suffragists, whose primary concern was getting women the vote, and of Rosie the Riveter, who returned to her home once World War II was over. "(The '60s) had to do with changing social beliefs across the board," he says.

He envisioned the young people in the Forest of Arden as a kind of commune. "People who lived in communes were romantics, unrealistic, idealistic, stumbling around out in the forest," he says.

"But they found some things out about themselves and helped us find some things out about ourselves."

Just so, "As You Like It" offers experiences anyone can identify with: "Young people finding a way through the maze of feelings, emotions and wishes," Schulte says.

Like hippies, "As You Like It" believes that basic goodness will prevail. "I think that's what comedy is all about," Schulte says, "that the human race will survive."

In doing some exercises to prepare for the play, some cast members pretended to pass a joint around since drugs were part of many young people's experience in the '60s. On their own, "they all backed away from that," Schulte said. "Maybe it's our 2000 values."

The play includes '60s music along with Shakespeare's songs, which Schulte likens to the traditionals Joan Baez or Bob Dylan sang.

Costumer Megwyn Sanders faced a much more difficult job than she anticipated trying to mimic the clothing of the era. The cast could not find bell-bottoms and peasant shirts hiding in their parents' closets and basements. Sanders had to improvise the 44 costumes from contemporary clothing.

Schulte has never heard of another '60s production of the play but says, "it's not unlikely somebody has already done this."

The cast is headed by two veteran University Theatre performers: Rachel Roberts as Rosalind and Steve Ruppel as her swain, Orlando.

The production stage manager is Chris Dick. Sue Johnson is the assistant director. Megwyn Sanders is the costume designer. Faculty member Dennis Seyer is the scenic and lighting designer.

"As You Like It" was the first Shakespearean production Schulte appeared in as a collegian in 1958. He did his master's thesis and doctoral dissertation on Shakespeare. In the 30 years he has been directing plays at Southeast, Shakespeare has gotten most of his attention.

"Shakespeare is the grand opera of theater, though it may be an acquired taste," he says.

"As You Like It" contains some of the Bard's most exquisite language, including the observation that "all the world's a stage."

Setting the play in the 1960s is intended to make audiences a little more comfortable with these words.

"It's tough enough to understand and identify with the language," Schulte says. "The language is so imaginative and so compact.

"If at the same time you have to adjust to men running around in tights, that's a lot to adjust to."