Aquila Theatre performs Shakespeare's As You Like It at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts March 12 | Press Releases

"... a classically trained, modernly hip troupex" - The New York Times

Image: Aquila With one of Shakespeare's great comedies to spur them on, New York City's highly acclaimed Aquila Theatre brings "As You Like It" to Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Friday, March 12 at 8 p.m. The company will also perform the play earlier the same day at 10:00 a.m. for the Quick Center's ArtsBound Schoolday series, to which children from grades 5 and up are invited. The ArtsBound series is made possible in part by the Herman Goldman Foundation and the Fairfield County Community Foundation. Tickets are $7 for the ArtsBound matinee and $30 for the evening performance. This event is a presentation of the Arts & Minds season.

"As You Like It," is one of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies and with a list of characters that numbers nearly twenty, the Aquila Theatre's seven "versatile, nimble and seemingly inexhaustible" actors, as the L.A. Stage Scene Examiner describes them, double and triple in roles to the delight of audiences. The production is a high-energy one with a minimalist set and such accomplished work that a Blogdowntown reviewer seemed to be left wide-eyed and breathless: "The elegant force of this ensemble has you enthralled with how they make Shakespeare seem so easy to understand."

Set in a period of revolution in France when love conquered all, "As You Like It" tells the convoluted story of power hungry men exiling their brothers, girls playing guys, mistaken identity and finding love in unexpected places. Shakespeare's comic brilliance is wrapped in gender-confused, unrequited love. The Aquila does not shy away from the multi-threaded plotline and multiple roles, but relishes in the confusion. The Los Angeles Times says, "instead of frustrating the viewer, this finely acted production succeeds at creating a pleasantly tipsy experience as it merrily toys with the fluidity of identity."

Aquila infuses "As You Like It" with their unique blend of fun and entertaining theatricality. The production is both faithful to Shakespeare and relevant and accessible to a modern audience.

The Aquila Theatre Company was founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck and has been based in New York City since 1999. In following its mission, the Aquila presents a regular season of plays in New York, at international festivals and tours to approximately seventy American towns and cities a year, bringing the greatest theatrical works to the greatest number. The company has been highly praised for its ability to combine text with physical action and make imaginative use of the flexibility a minimalist setting provides.

Recognizing the golden opportunity of having the Aquila Theatre Company perform one of the great classic comedies at the Quick Center on the Fairfield campus, Dr. Aaron Perkus, associate dean of University College has joined Professor William O'Connell, professor of English at Norwalk Community College in a special collaboration. Perkus and O'Connell have designed a four-part event for lifelong learners with "As You Like It" as a centerpiece. Participants will enjoy a lecture at 4, dinner at 6, the play at 8 and a post-theatre discussion at University College the following Monday morning. The cost for this inclusive event is $78 per person and $150 per couple. For reservations, contact Laura Keller at (203) 254-4110.

Tickets are available online at fairfield.edu/quick or by calling the Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. Special offers and discounts are available through the Quick Center's e-mail list. Join, by contacting boxoffice@quickcenter.com . And become a fan of the Quick Center for the Arts on Facebook! Keep up-to-date with the latest performance news, plus special offers and discounts! Find the Quick Center at www.facebook.com/FairfieldQuickCenter.