A Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE IT
Adapted by Shaina Taub & Laurie Woolery
Music & Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Directed by Kristianne Kurner, Founder & Executive Artistic Director
Music Direction by Angela Parrish
Choreography by Nikki Antoine
Carlsbad, CA – New Village Arts (NVA) continues its milestone 25th Anniversary Season with AS YOU LIKE IT, a joyful musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy, adapted by SHAINA TAUB and LAURIE WOOLERY. Bursting with original music, romance, humor and Shakespeare’s timeless celebration of love and transformation, AS YOU LIKE IT follows a group of exiles, lovers and misfits who escape the confines of court and discover freedom, community and themselves in the Forest of Arden. AS YOU LIKE IT will be directed and scenic designed by NVA Founder and Executive Artistic Director KRISTIANNE KURNER, with music direction by ANGELA PARRISH and choreography by NIKKI ANTOINE. Performances on the Ray Charles Stage will run OCTOBER 16 – NOVEMBER 29, 2026 at the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center in Carlsbad Village. Previews are OCTOBER 16–23, with an Opening Night champagne reception and Handel’s Ice Cream on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24. Dea Hurston Industry Night will be held on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9.
In AS YOU LIKE IT, Rosalind is banished from the court of her uncle, Duke Frederick, and escapes to the Forest of Arden with her cousin Celia. Disguised and determined to make a new life, Rosalind soon encounters Orlando, the young man who captured her heart before her exile, only he doesn’t recognize her. What follows is a playful tangle of mistaken identities, unexpected romances and newfound friendships as the inhabitants of Arden search for love and a place to belong.
AS YOU LIKE IT marks a deeply meaningful milestone for New Village Arts as KRISTIANNE KURNER, NVA’s Founder and Executive Artistic Director, takes the director’s chair for the final time before her retirement. Kurner also serves as Scenic Designer for the production, bringing together a creative team that includes both longtime NVA collaborators and artists returning to the company in new capacities. NIKKI ANTOINE, recently seen on the Ray Charles Stage in NVA’s acclaimed production of HAIRSPRAY, returns behind the scenes as Choreographer, alongside Music Director ANGELA PARRISH, making her NVA debut! CASSIE LANGAN returns as Props Designer for the first time since the company’s 2019 production of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, while AMBER ST JAMES continues a recurring collaboration with NVA as Makeup & Wig Designer, following her work on productions including HAIRSPRAY and RENT. The creative team also includes ANABEL OLGUIN-NATALE (Costume Designer), CURTIS MUELLER (Lighting Designer), MALICK CEESAY (Sound Designer), NOLAN LEMAY (Fight Choreographer & Band Leader), GWYN TORIO (Assistant Director), SARAH JANE SALONGA (Intimacy Director), ZACHARY ELLIOT (Scenic Painter), MARCUS RICO (Sound Engineer) and CHRIS RENDA (Master Carpenter).
Featuring music and lyrics by celebrated songwriter and Tony Award winner SHAINA TAUB, this musical adaptation transforms Shakespeare’s comedy into a vibrant celebration of community and chosen family. NVA’s production reimagines the Court through the glitz and image-conscious world of Hollywood, where appearances and status are everything, before transporting audiences to a Joshua Tree-inspired Forest of Arden: an expansive, free-spirited refuge where music flourishes, expectations fall away and the characters are given the freedom to discover who they truly are.
“I’m thrilled to return to the Forest of Arden for my final show as a director with New Village Arts. AS YOU LIKE IT is a celebration of a life in the arts and how we build community through love, music, and understanding. I couldn’t imagine a better team to work with for this journey and can’t wait to share this adaptation of Shakespeare’s most accessible work with our Village.” says director Kristianne Kurner, Founder & Executive Artistic Director.
For her final production, KURNER has assembled what she describes as a “dream cast,” bringing together beloved returning artists, familiar NVA faces and performers making new connections with the company. Leading the cast as Rosalind is JOHNISA BREAULT, returning to New Village Arts for the first time since appearing in LEONARD BERNSTEIN’S NEW YORK, NVA’s outdoor production presented at The Flower Fields during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three NVA veterans return for this show: KRIS BONA, MAX MACKE & WALTER MURRAY. Between the three actors they have been in nearly 30 productions at NVA and we are honored to have them return for Kurner’s final production as director.
The production also includes MARLON MAGTIBAY as Orlando , NICOLE WARKENTIEN as Celia, MARY ROSE VADEBONCOEUR as Jaques, MAX MACKE as Duke Frederick, ENNIS C JACKSON as Duke Senior, ERICA MARIE WEISZ returns as Phoebe & Hisperia (THE THANKSGIVING PLAY and THE 39 STEPS), GABY RITTER as Silvia (WE WILL ROCK YOU), JACOB LOPEZ as Oliver, PHOENIX VELONA as Andy & Frankie Flow, JUWAN STANFORD as William/Caveman (RENT & WE WILL ROCK YOU), WALTER MURRAY as Adam/Referee/Papa Corin, ANALIA ROMERO as Agent/Mama Corin/Martext, LENA PALKE as Young Jacques, Ensemble & Ardenite (returning after acclaimed performances in MIRACLE on 34th STREET, FUN HOME, & THE FERRYMAN.) Palke received the 2024 Craig Noel Outstanding Youth Performance Award for her performances above. Rounding out the cast is NOLAN LEMAY as Bronco. LEMAY will also act as the Dance & Fight Captain. The company also includes understudies JAYMES MACABALE and SARAH LEDESMA.
True to Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery’s musical vision, the performers themselves help create the sound of Arden. Members of the company will play piano, guitar, ukulele, cello, cajón, drums and bass live onstage, allowing the Forest of Arden to become not simply a setting, but a musical community built before the audience’s eyes.
That sense of community extends to the inclusion of NVA’s Mainstage Players: REID MORIARTY, EMILY SANDOVAL, ETHAN MARR, MAX LECANU-FAYET, STEPHANIE MONIS and RACHEL FORD, who appear in the production as Royal Minions. The Mainstage Players program has been part of New Village Arts for more than a decade, beginning with Monday Night Live!, a sketch comedy class for neurodiverse performers. The success of that work ultimately led NVA to expand its professional theatrical training opportunities for artists with developmental disabilities and neurodiversity. The presence of artists from so many corners of New Village Arts’ history feels especially fitting.
For Kurner’s final production, the return to AS YOU LIKE IT brings New Village Arts’ history full circle. At its heart, the story is about leaving behind the world you know, venturing into the unknown, finding your people and discovering who you might become along the way. Twenty-five years after NVA first ventured into the Forest of Arden, the company returns once more, this time to celebrate where it has been, the community it has built and the beginning of a new chapter.
AS YOU LIKE IT is graciously sponsored by Carlsbad Cultural Arts Office, Knot Free Productions, Anthony Phifer-Collins, Penguin Random House, and an Anonymous donation.
New Village Arts’ Season 25 is sponsored by Jazzercise, 5 Alarm Security, and 5 North Media. Corporate and individual sponsorships for SEASON 25 are available. Please email Kristianne Kurner, Founder & Executive Artistic Director at kristianne@newvillagearts.org to inquire.
As You Like It
A Musical Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE IT
Adapted by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery
Music and Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Directed by Kristianne Kurner, Founder & Executive Artistic Director
Musical Directed by Angela Parrish
Choreography by Nikki Antoine
Previews: October 16-23, 2026
Opening Night: October 24, 2026
Dea Hurston Industry Night: November 9, 2026
October 16 – November 29, 2026 AS YOU LIKE IT is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. www.concordtheatricals.com
