AS WE LIKE IT by Oded Gross to Open at LAB Theater Project

LAB Theater Project will present As We Like It by Oded Gross. This 2026 Eugene O'Neil center semi-finalist play by Oded Gross is at once suspenseful, heartbreaking, darkly funny, and fiercely theatrical. As We Like It explores the stories we create to endure the unbearable and the terrifying power of stories to heal, deceive, protect and destroy.

New Jersey based playwright Oded Gross is an award-winning playwright with accolades from all over the country. His works have been produced all over the country including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Boston Court and the Moscow Art Theatre.

As We Like It is directed by newcomer Roseanne Olszewski and features Tampa area actors Sophie Fisher, Rudy Gonzalez, Taylor Skolnick, Avry Eden, Jay Overlin, and Chase Tomberlin. Set and lighting design are by Owen Robertson, with sound design by Rick Anthony, scenic art by M'Ria Swire, set dressing and props are by Beth Robertson, and costume design is by Newt Rametta.

Executive Producer Owen Robertson said 'this play was selected for our season because it speaks to our lives today despite its backdrop in the past.' Playwright Oded Gross said 'I've always been fascinated by the stories we tell ourselves. Sometimes those stories are necessary to survive.' Robertson further added 'as a society, as a species, we know our world and how to process our world through story; that is the brilliance and voice of this play.'

ABOUT THE PLAY

Rose and her family are fighting to survive. But Rose sees another world entirely: the enchanted Forest of Arden, where she is rehearsing Shakespeare's As You Like It for the wedding of a Duke and his Fairy Queen. If the performance succeeds, Rose believes the Queen may return the son she lost.

Her family reluctantly plays along, unsure whether Rose's fantasy is a refuge—or a danger that could get them all killed. Then two wounded strangers stumble into their hiding place, and the fragile boundary between illusion and reality begins to collapse.

The inspiration for the play, according to Gross, came in the aftermath of October 7, 2023 and his intense need to stop listening to all the noise in the aftermath. He needed to shut off the hateful rhetoric, unfollowing people, muting others. He looked to stories for comfort and avoided those that did not provide that. This retreat to stories for self-preservation became the spark of As We Like It.

As We Like It runs for three weekends, September 17 through October 4. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 and Sunday matinees at 3:00, in LAB's theater at 812 E. Henderson Ave, on the western edge of Ybor City. The show will also be available on-demand, starting October 1-15. Audience members who purchase on-demand tickets will be emailed a link to the video site.

Tickets for As We Like It are $28.00, and are available through LAB's website, https://www.labtheaterproject.com. Pending availability, discount seats of $25.00 will be offered at the door for each show, starting 10 minutes before showtime. 

ABOUT LAB THEATER PROJECT