ALL THE WORLD’S A MALL
…in this totally awesome mix of Shakespeare and John Hughes.

It’s 1985 and the brand new Arden Mall is hosting a high school dance. Bookworm babe Rosalind wants to go with varsity wrestler Orlando, but she’s never had the guts to talk to him. Rosalind disguises herself as a frat dude named Corey and learns Orlando’s true feelings for her. But things get tricky when “Corey” complicates the lives of three other couples at Arden. Rosalind will do anything to get Orlando, even if it means showing up at the dance as both herself and Corey. 

Filled with memorable tunes, a hip sense of humor, pure joy and a huge heart, it all works out LIKE YOU LIKE IT if you take the biggest risk of all: being yourself.

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From the Authors:

The night I got home from seeing The Breakfast Club in 1985, I knew I had seen something profound (okay, I was 15). But I thirsted to create something like that movie: the angst, the humor, the weird lipstick stunt — and mostly, the powerful feelings of self-revelation and the community those characters built. When I was in As You Like It in high school (my bit role did not make it into the adaptation), I was moved by its message of going to a special place where you can let down your guard — like, well, a mall when I was a teen. Years later, I got my John Hughes chocolate in my Shakespeare peanut butter, and Like You Like It was born. The show may take place in the world of The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink, but it’s a universal story of self-expression that we hope speaks to anyone who’s ever felt the pangs of desire and has wanted to take the leap to make that desire a reality.
–Sammy Buck

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I was excited to compose for Like You Like It because it was an opportunity to write in a style of music I enjoyed while growing up. There are even a couple of moments in our show where I “stole” musical material from my teenage self. My mission was to create a score that sounded simultaneously familiar and brand-new by tapping at the back of the listener’s psyche while dramatically serving the scene on stage. Something else drew me in — the message about taking risks for what is in your heart. I want to share the message that resounds in one of our heroine Rosalind’s lyrics: “You won’t know unless you try.” It was fun living in my past while creating this score. I hope it brings back good memories for those who lived through the ’80s, and a fun, emotional experience for those who are living it second-hand.
–Daniel A. Acquisto

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