Gender bending and puckish playfulness in outdoor Shakespeare offerings

Wooden O has always been one of the sleekest of the summer-theater bunch, bringing a sound system, clever set-building and slick fight-scene choreography to the theater-in-the-park gambit. "As You Like It," a finicky comedy, benefits greatly from this machinery, which Wooden O utilizes to craft a zesty Shakespearean parfait.

Director Carys Kresny spices things up a little with gender-blind casting (and an ensuing comment on the gay-marriage debate), but mostly lets the whirlwind of imposters in "As You Like It" put on the fun without much interference.

"As You Like It" takes one of Shakespeare's favorite devices, the cross-dressing disguise, into absurdity — at one point, Rosalind is a woman, dressed as a man, pretending to be herself so that her actual love interest can pretend to woo her.

The Wooden O cast navigates these twists and turns deftly, anchored by Betsy Schwartz as the prankster/ingenue Rosalind and Nathan Smith as her heart-heavy counterpart, Orlando.

Following all the costume changes can certainly pay off, as the play contains several hidden gems — notably, the "All the world's a stage" soliloquy (pulled of elegantly by Susanna Burney as Jacques), and the fine fool Touchstone, played as an ultra-cool wisecracker by Chad Jennings.

The end result is a shiny, fast-paced zip-line of witty asides and happy endings that both satisfies and surprises.

Laughs and love

GreenStage is a 13-year veteran of the Seattle theater-in-the-park scene, and this year it presents Shakespeare's most appropriate comedy for this purpose, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Not only does it name the season right in the title, but it also comes possessed of an simple (and well-known) plot easily packaged for distracted, picnicking audiences.

This production, directed by Steve Cooper, harnesses these advantages for a smooth, fast-running summer treat that hits both the laughs and the love lessons right on cue.

The love lessons, if you've forgotten, include the following: that the course of true love never does run smooth, that love can turn the wisest man into a fool, and that invisible fairy people are controlling our emotions with magical flowers.

As chief mischief-maker among the fairies, Cherilynn Brooks brings us Puck as an adorable cargo-panted anarchist, with a boyish physicality that conjures all the similarities between Puck and Peter Pan.

Of the foolish lovers, Heather Persinger stands out, culling inspiration for her oft-spurned Helena straight out of "Fatal Attraction." As Titania and Oberon, Brandon Simmons and Hana Lass bring steady hands, ruling over the action of fairyland like wise parents.

For comic prowess, however, Shawn Law outdoes everyone as Bottom, going so whimsically over-the-top that if you aren't laughing with him, you'll most certainly be laughing at him.

This is a play done best with a certain reverence, and director Cooper wisely doesn't endeavor to mess with any of its classic moments. The only way this "Midsummer" could treat you wrong is by being inaudible — as GreenStage performs without the aid of amplification, be sure to sit close to the stage.