Many years ago, after watching the Rosalind played by Edith Evans, an enthusiastic critic exclaimed, ‘She made the audience one Orlando’. However imprecise this phrase may be, it captures some essential virtues of a superb portrayal: the ability to seduce us, to hypnotize, to convince us of charm and vigor–those qualities that come across immediately and fully in an excellent production. Like pace, rhythm, and humor, such virtues tend to elude us in our private studies and our chalky class-rooms. We all recognize that, unfortunately, the personal magnetism of an Edith Evans is not a universal option, but a rare one. The Rosalinds, for example, that I have been able to see, stopped far short of making me into an Orlando. They range from the actress, best left nameless, who played the role as if she were a rookie offensive guard for the New York Giants, to Ronald Pickup, the lead in the all-male Old Vic version of 1968. Pickup was a charming Rosalind, but far weaker than both a virile Orlando and a wryly witty Celia.

As You Like It can succeed whether its heroine is idealized or realistic, brilliant or subdued. But the charisma of a great Rosalind - Shakespeare's most effectively dominating comic heroine - would probably distort many other leading roles in his comedies. For recent audiences Valentine, Bassanio, and Claudio seem more credible if their unappealing selfishness receives some sporadic emphasis than if they are treated as nearly flawless conventional romance figures. Successful productions often induce diverging attitudes toward the same character or idea.