Onaledge Lodge provides an ideal natural setting for Shakespeare’s ultimate rom-com.

It’s summer of love time in the Forest of Arden and the Star Bar Players are in the groove. In the revived company’s second year of “Summer Shakespeare,” they mount a confident, smooth-running, 1960s-themed As You Like It.

It’s one of Shakespeare’s most popular and frequently performed plays, so many theatregoers will be familiar with it. But if your Shakespeare needs a brush-up, just know that it’s one of his great rom-coms.

Many characters, most notably Rosalind (Charis Negley) and Orlando (Daniel Salamé) — who have fallen in love at first sight — flee the restrictions of court life or are banished outright and take refuge in the Forest of Arden. Disguises and romantic entanglements ensue, but luckily Rosalind’s magical powers sort everyone out and, in the end, there are four marriages.

Star Bar Players’ production feels fresh and exciting. Dylan Mosley, fight coordinator, creates several first-rate fights, which vault the first act into high gear.

The fight between Orlando and Charles (Timothy Brian Cordova) is presented as a commercial sports brawl, signaled by Charles’ WWE belt — one of Dinah Mann’s inspired costume choices.

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Charles has a “going Hollywood” moment, throwing out an anachronistic “Aren’t thou not entertained?” question to the audience midway through the fight. Shakespeare would probably be cool with that interpretation.

The choreography leans into the disparity between Cordova’s and Salamé’s size, adding to the amusement and making this Orlando’s triumph almost believable. Salamé displays impressive acrobatic skills, which entertain and further sell the fight.

The fight scene between Orlando and Charles in ‘As You Like It.’ | Photo: Richard Brusky

A lively cast

Touchstone (Jordan Mathews), the play’s Fool, is an audience favorite. Mathews makes the most of the moment that Touchstone enters Arden loaded down with Rosalind’s luggage. He’s a gifted physical comedian, convincing you that at every moment he’s on the verge of dropping everything, yet he never quite tips over.

When Rosalind and Orlando meet in the forest, Salamé and Negley do justice to the text’s lively repartee. Rosalind has two speeches declaiming her professed magical powers and Negley’s balletic gestures convince us that, yes, Rosalind can put a spell on us.

All the cast is proficient in the verse and the whole ensemble, even those with few lines, seems genuinely engaged with the action. They also form a pleasing musical company.

The pace does stall a bit toward the end of Act 1 (Act 3 of the original). Though the rustic folk song is pleasing, the production could do with one fewer verse.

The outdoor staging at Onaledge Lodge is an ideal outdoor setting for this play. The audience enters through a trail of Orlando’s verses of love pinned to trees. Director Beth Clements Mosley further capitalizes on Onaledge House, a beautiful Victorian stone mansion, using the balcony to stage Hymen’s final blessing of the proceedings.

The Star Bar players have a long, if interrupted, history in the Colorado Springs area. Even some regular theatre patrons may not realize the company returned to production in 2025 after a few years’ hiatus. If you’re just now getting the word, hie thee to the theatre, forsooth, as this company puts on a show that will stand comparison with the Shakespeare of many professional regional theatres.

The show closes with another ’60s throwback, the cast inviting audience members onstage to dance, a la Hair. As Touchstone was heard to say, “Far out!”

Photo: Richard Brusky