What if Shakespeare’s best romcom got a Wild West makeover?

MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND: Saddle up to experience an unforgettable adventure. Ballet Fantastique’s As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet is a bold, high-spirited twist on one of the most classic love stories of all time—with cowboy boots, barroom brawls, and a hoedown finale.

Choreographed by dynamic mother-daughter duo Donna and Hannah Bontrager, this unique dance theater original features a cinematic, genre-fusing custom Wild West score for BFan by Grammy®-nominated international composer Juan Luqui (Netflix, Hulu, Nat Geo, Playstation). And in a one-of-a-kind twist, the whole story is hilariously narrated in Shakespearean verse—delivered with a Western drawl by the sharp-tongued Touchstone (with UO Shakespeare professors Lynn Freitas and Rachel Hanan). No advance reading required.

As feuding families clash, two daring daughters escape into the wild and whimsical Range of Ardenne, where love blooms, disguises drop, and a rollicking rodeo brings it all home.

Get ready for some high-kicking can-can, sepia-toned silent film storytelling, honkeytonk saloon, cowboy showdowns, and outlaws in love in BFan’s signature, award-winning immersive dance theater storytelling.

Playful, action-packed, wildly romantic, and totally original—As You Like It: A Wild West Ballet is Shakespeare RomCom like you’ve never seen before.

Showtimes — Hult Center

THU. MAY 7, 2026 – 7:00 pm
FRI. MAY 8, 2026 – 7:30 pm 
SAT. MAY 9, 2026 – 7:30 pm
SUN. MAY. 10, 2026 – 2:30 pm

Run Time: 106 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission Recommended: Ages 3+

TICKETS $22-120 ($15-65/EA FOR STUDENTS & YOUTH)

On demand streaming May 13- May 19

Live music

Grammy®-nominated Juan Luqui (Netflix, Hulu, Playstation, Sundance, Trifecta, NatGeo) with Mauve Robichez for Ballet Fantastique, funded by a generous grant from the Nils & Jewel Hult Foundation, Arts Foundation of Western Oregon Fund, Oregon Community Foundation 

Theater info

Soreng Theater, Hult Center, Eugene (OR)

Project support

NILS & JEWEL HULT ENDOWMENT FUND

Creative/concept team

Choreographer-Producers
Donna Marisa & Hannah Bontrager

Original Concept, Libretto

Donna Marisa Bontrager, Hannah Bontrager

Narration

Lynn Freitas, Rachel Hanan (UO Shakespeare Program)

Costume Design & Construction

Allison Ditson, Donna Marisa Bontrager, Rita Perini Vance

Set Design

Debra Peña

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