After an 18-month pandemic intermission, PICT Classic Theatre will return to live, in-person performances with William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

“As our opening production, we wanted to give our audience something to lift the spirits, and ‘As You Like It’ fits the bill perfectly,” said Alan Stanford, PICT artistic and executive director.

“This is a play about love. Indeed, the word is spoken in this play more often than in any other in the Shakespeare canon,” he said. “All the joy and pain of love are in this play and, being about love, the play has the perfect happy ending.”

“Creating live theater is an exploration of compassion and humanity,” said Catherine Kolos, PICT general operations manager. “Our entire 25th season examines different aspects of that human experience, but it was important to us to start from a place of love, a place of laughter.”

“As You Like It” will be staged Oct. 30-Nov. 20 in the WQED Fred Rogers Studio, 482 Fifth Ave., in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section. Pay-what-you-can previews are set for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28-29.

PICT describes the play thus: “When Rosalind and Orlando are both banished from court, they are separated and forced to flee with friends and confidants to the Forest of Arden. There they find not only the forest’s colorful inhabitants, but mischief, love, and mistaken identity. Will Rosalind and Orlando find each other once more?”

Regulars and newcomers

“We are thrilled to bring back many of our regular PICT company members, as well as some new faces. And for those who loved ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ last year, we welcome home to PICT our leading ladies from that production, Zoe Abuyuan and Saige Smith,” Stanford said.

“Zoe will be our Rosalind, and her Orlando will be Gabe DeRose, a newcomer to PICT,” he added. “Also in the cast are PICT regulars, James FitzGerald and Martin Giles, together with Dylan Marquis Meyers, who audiences will remember as our Romeo from our first WQED production.”

Courtesy of Catherine Kolos Cast members Zoe Abuyuan (left), Jerreme Rodriguez, Kaitlin Kerr, Saige Smith, Dylan Marquis Meyers and Gabe DeRose rehearse for PICT Classic Theatre’s production of "As You Like It."  

“It’s such a relief to realize that theater can persevere through a pandemic,” said Smith, who portrays Rosalind’s cousin, Celia. “This show depicts so many kinds of love between its characters, but the one love that stretches across our entire dedicated cast, crew and production team is the love of storytelling.

“And because I know what it’s like to live without theater, I now get to live in the moment, understanding how precious this opportunity is while I experience it,” she said.

Stanford directs the production, with stage management by Kelly Haywood and Amelia Heastings, costume design by Joan Markert, lighting design by Keith A. Truax, sound design by Kris Buggey and musical direction by Reed Allen Worth.

Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with weekend matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets at $20-$48 can be purchased at 412-561-6000 or picttheatre.org.

PICT will require proof of vaccination and masks for audience members during 2021-22 performances.

“The safety of our audience, our actors, our staff and crew — that is paramount to us,” Kolos said. “We’ve meticulously crafted our safety protocols to make sure that everyone — on stage and off — knows that they can fully relax and enjoy the performance for a few hours without a high threat of exposure. That peace of mind is necessary.”

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