Shakespeare in the Age of Screens and Shadows: Rockland County’s “All’s Well โThat Ends โWell”
In 2025,the Children’s Shakespeare Theater (CST) is staging a strikingly modern adaptation of All’s Well Thatโค Ends Well,highlighting the enduring relevance of the Bard’s work. Managing Director Gray Johnson believes “there are a lot of easy parallels that we can make,” ensuring โคShakespeare will always resonate with audiences.
This productionโ reimagines the King of France (played โby Alexanderโค Josuweit) as a figure hopelessly addicted to his โcell phone, neglecting his health and refusing prescribed medicines. His recovery hinges on the dedication of Helena (Mylaโฃ Zimbler), โคdaughter of a renowned, โฃdeceased โคphysician, who vows to โคrisk her life on her father’s cures. Upon the King’s restoration to health, he offers Helena any reward, and she requests the hand of Bertram (Levon Goldberg), a young lord she loves. However,Bertram,seeking โto avoid commitment,flees to join a European war alongside his impulsive friend,Parollesโ (Richard Reimann Valdes). A striking image from the production, captured โin a scene from a memorial โservice, shows Parolles engrossedโ in texting, aโ visual commentaryโ on modern distraction.
CST, a nonprofit associationโค celebrating its 25th anniversary, has brought all 37 of Shakespeare’s plays to life through young performers. Artistic Director Brady Amoonclark emphasizes the chance for Rockland County residents to “come support a small local nonprofit.” The company activelyโข encourages children of all experience levels to participate โขin acting.
Beyond โขperformance, CST functions as โan educational program. Emilia Falkner, 17,โข currently serving as Assistant Director of All’s Well That Ends Well,โฃ has played overโ 20 charactersโข with the company. She reflectsโข that her time with CST hasโ taught her “how to โคproject, you learn how โto be sure of yourselfโ and also โคto adaptโฃ toโข circumstances.”
Amoonclark highlights the importance of cultivating patience and presence, skills increasingly rare in โa worldโ of instant gratification. “One of the things we teach kids how to doโข is wait. Whenโข you’re doing theater, you have to wait your turn, andโ wait your turn quietly. It’s a new โคskill to cultivate.” The program prioritizes confidence, creativity, โคand community, particularly benefiting its many homeschooledโ actors. For CST’s young performers,understanding Shakespeare is about exploring the human condition as much as memorizing lines.
Falkner observes, “Shakespeare is so relevant to this day. Every play shows how humanity sort ofโฃ repeats itselfโฆ it gives you a certain outlook on human actions.” All’s Well That Ends Well‘s themes of pride, growth, and forgiveness are particularly potent inโ this modern setting.
While โฃthe play itself doesn’t directly address contemporary issues like drone strikes, the production’s focus โคonโฃ distraction andโ the consequences of unchecked desires offers a subtle commentary on the anxieties of the modernโ world. The King’s addiction โto his phone can be seen as a metaphor for the ways technology can consume and isolateโข individuals, mirroring the detached nature of modern warfare and the ethical questions surrounding remote conflict.
Amoonclark concludes,”While โฃthis is a โคtheater company,I’ve always seen it as more of an education program. It’s magical to โsee how much they โlearn – about theater, and about themselves.”