Accent on Bard

Re the review of “As You Like It” [“Their Hearts’ Delight,” Feb. 9]: For Lewis Segal to put the blame on the American casts of Peter Hall’s Ahmanson productions [of Shakespeare] is really unfair. And to imply that one needs a British pedigree to find Shakespearean insight is absurd. This may be one of Sir Peter’s better productions, but there are many American directors who have done as well with much less.

But whether this production is “better” than the homegrown brand is irrelevant. Until we have a stable company of working actors of the highest caliber, who share common training, background and technique, and who are willing and able to work consistently in the theater (and are rewarded comparably for it), we shall never have a quality classical theater of our own.

Louis Fantasia

Los Angeles