Drive over the hill to Ouray to catch an indoor production of William Shakepeare’s As You Like It. (This will also be staged Aug 5-6 in Silverton at Anesi Park).

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women, merely players. Each play No Holds Bard has chosen, from Measure for Measure in 2005 to Othello in 2023, has taught us new things about Shakespeare's genius.

Everything is over the top in this comedy. Shakespeare knows we laugh at gender bending, so in As You Like it a male actor played a girl named Rosalind. To stay safe in the forest, Rosalind disguises herself as a boy named Ganymede. But then her hot crush Orlando shows up, so, to "cure him of his lovesickness," Ganymede pretends to be his lady Rosalind. It's dizzying: a boy plays a girl who's dressed as a boy imitating a girl.

And Shakespeare knows we like it when two people get married at the end of a romantic comedy. Well then... how about 8 people, in four motley couples? Ridiculous. It's an insane plot with wacky characters and lots of music and hilarious twists and turns. SHAKESPEARE... as he intended it.

Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://thewrightoperahouse.org/events/theater/as-you-like-it