The Cornerstone Theater Company adapts Shakespeare to tackle California politics

By Ramy Eletreby

In its 20 years, Cornerstone Theater Company has become nationally recognized for adapting renowned pieces to specifically play towards the community they are performed in. Two and a half years ago, Cornerstone's adaptation of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's You Can't Take It With You to appeal to the L.A. American Muslim community was praised. This time around, it's the work of the Bard that has received the face lift. In association with Pasadena Playhouse, Cornerstone Theater Company has taken a Shakespeare classic, As You Like It, and transported it to modern day California, specifically Pasadena and the Mojave Desert, and the current political climate. "What's happening in Pasadena in the play is a metaphor for what's happening in the U.S. today," says As You Like It adaptor and Cornerstone co-founder Alison Carey, whose adaptation deals such timely issues as gay marriage and gender identity.

In the meticulous and sensitive hands of director and Cornerstone co-founder Bill Rauch, the adaptation, cleverly titled As You Like It: A California Concoction, becomes a social commentary on the definition of love and the different ways it can be expressed. Christopher Liam Moore, Rauch's partner of 22 years, stars as Rosalind, the heroine. In fact, Rauch and Moore's personal relationship informs the piece directly and gives the premise a credibility that is undeniable. "There are five couples who marry at the end of the play: a lesbian couple, a gay couple, a straight senior citizen couple, and two other straight couples. And Chris [Moore] plays the female in one of the straight couples, which makes a strong statement about the possibilities of what love is," explains Rauch. "All are presented with equal weight and value and it shows that all should exist in the eyes of the world." This is not something foreign to Rauch and Moore. In 1997, the two held a commitment ceremony in which they proclaimed their love for each other in front of 175 of their closest friends and family. However, no official recognition of such a commitment exists. Nine years later, the couple has two sons, Liam, age five, and Xavier, nine months, and a dog. The Rauch-Moore family's abundance of strength, love, and commitment in their home is something most families would be lucky to have.

Moore's casting as Rosalind marks the third time he has played a Shakespearean female in a Cornerstone production. His performance as Viola in Twelfth Night earned him an L.A. Ovation Award for best actor in 1994 and his portrayal of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth was critically acclaimed. The historic and social significance in the current casting is that Rosalind, like Viola, is a "trouser" role: She is a woman who disguises herself as a man throughout the majority of the play. "In Shakespeare's day, all the female characters were played by young men," explains Moore. "It's interesting but the dynamics suddenly change when you have a man playing a woman playing a man. The subtext is completely different. In these trouser plots, there's always some sort of love going on between a man and the woman disguised as a man and later when it's revealed that the character is actually a woman, there's this sigh of relief and it's suddenly OK that they feel this way about each other. Shakespeare was definitely making some sort of statement on the whole idea of love."

As You Like It: A California Concoction holds yet another significance for Rauch and Moore as this marks their last collaborative production with the company that they built from the ground up. Moore left Cornerstone last summer and this month, Rauch is stepping down as artistic director. Rauch and Moore's departure marks the end of an era as they, along with Carey and several other founding members, saw Cornerstone grow from a passionate fledgling company in 1986 to an internationally respected institution today that has changed thousands of lives and will certainly continue to do so.

As You Like It: A California Concoction runs at the Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena, March 17-April 16. For more information, see www.cornerstonetheater.org and www.pasadenaplayhouse.org.