“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is one of the first questions posed in “Orlando” to its eponymous character. Young Orlando (Julia Small, CAS ’27) responds, without hesitation, “a poet,” yet he finds himself incapable of writing a single line for hundreds of years. We’ve all been there — speaking into the universe desires we hope will actualize but know will remain nothing more than mere words.
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl from Virginia Woolf’s novel “Orlando: A Biography” is a play about inquiry, uncertainty, love and passion. The story follows young English nobleman Orlando, who mysteriously lives for centuries, travelling the world, only to wake up one day as a woman, living under new rules and identities. At its core, “Orlando” highlights the human hunger for meaning and answers, even those for which we don’t have words. Directed by April E. Brassard, the Davis Performing Arts Center’s “Orlando” turns a famously disorienting story into something digestible yet deeply emotional and intellectual, faithfully capturing Woolf’s original, nuanced message about these age-old questions.
Though the cast is small, the stage never feels bare. The narrators and ensemble — Elle Marinello (CAS ’28), Minh Phan (CAS ’26), Alex Roberts (CAS ’26) and Alexis Tarumianz (CAS ’26) — each inhabit their roles with clarity and energy, helping the audience follow the complex timeline. They weave in and out of Orlando’s life, evolving with the centuries and disentangling the otherwise complicated story. Their occasional direct engagement with the audience feels inviting rather than disruptive, reminding us that Orlando’s questions are, in some way, our own.
The dual casting of Orlando is the cornerstone of this production, and both actors rise to the challenge with impressive nuance. As the male Orlando, Small brings a spirited optimism to the character’s youth, embracing his boyish idiocy without letting him become one-dimensional. There’s a clear emotional arc in Small’s performance: From Orlando’s wide-eyed infatuation to the first cracks of disillusionment and suffering, she balances humor with vulnerability in a way that keeps Orlando sympathetic, even when he is stubbornly naive.
When Orlando awakens as a woman, Claire Cable (CAS ’27) seamlessly takes on the role. Her monologues are delivered with a sense of discovery that makes her lines feel lively, not recited. Cable captures Orlando’s growing awareness of the world’s expectations and limitations placed upon her newfound identity. The show concludes with her reaching towards the sky, stating that she is about to “understand.” I usually find myself frustrated with ambiguous endings like these, yet this one didn’t leave me as unsatisfied as I might have expected. Perhaps that’s what Woolf intended, because it’s just too easy to have someone else answer the many daunting questions about life for you. Instead, we begin to understand what is important and how we should live by asking ourselves internally. Cable skillfully encapsulates this: the humanness of longing for a past filled with heartache and of fearing a future that is entirely unknown.
As Sasha, Julia Wang (SFS ’27) presents a nuanced portrayal of an unfaithful first love. Instead of becoming a one-note villain, Wang leans into the character’s complexities, allowing the audience to understand why Orlando remains haunted by her memory: It’s because love is rarely rational, and neither are our reactions in the aftermath. Additionally, Teddy Lee’s (CAS ’27) performances as both the Archduchess and Archduke are humorous, offering a brief but welcome break from the play’s heavier existential musings. His comedic timing is sharp, and he maintains a tone that doesn’t mock the material but points to its absurdity.
Though the minimal set and stage props used could have easily made the visuals lackluster, they ultimately succeed. Dynamic lighting and effective sound cues constantly transform the stage, transporting us from the frosted courts of London to the heat of Constantinople to even bustling docks. The clock motif and sound effects, which are persistent reminders of the inescapable passage of time, are particularly memorable. However, there are moments when the audio approaches overstatement, momentarily pulling the audience out of the narrative. Still, these are rare missteps in an otherwise cohesive experience.
To stage “Orlando” is to confront its reputation: slippery, fantastical and famously hard to follow. Yet under Brassard’s impeccable direction, the production leans into that challenge with playfulness. Scenes shift across continents and centuries, but the audience is never lost — a testament to the production’s firm grasp and familiarity with the pacing and tone of the script. Brassard allows the strangeness to breathe without letting confusion disrupt.
“Orlando” lingers with the audience long after the final bows. Brassard’s production reminds us that life’s meanings are not handed to us in neat revelations. It is felt in longing, passion, subtleties and in the poetry we have yet to write. Brassard’s clear direction, coupled with the strong performances and thoughtful design, made “Orlando” an engaging adaptation of Woolf’s very human novel, leaving the audience feeling intimate with the questions of love, loss and becoming posed on the stage.
