True story – I was finishing As You Like It in a park today and these two prostitutes approached me to offer their services. I smiled and said no thank you, and as they walked away one said to the other “did you notice he was reading Shakespeare? Ayyyye.” And there you have it, Shakespeare gets respect even from Mexican prostitutes.
About the play – I am a bit confused. This has to be Shakespeare´s most homoerotic play by a long shot. Women fall in love with women, men fall in love with boys, friendship and sexuality walk a fine line between male characters. ¡Ora le! This play is almost as gay as RENT, if I may say so myself. In the end, Orsino continues to address Viola as her male persona even after he casually arranges their marriage. It seems as if he´s still sexually attracted to her male persona. Let me put it this way, I don´t really want to know what kind of lovin they´ll be making on the honeymoon but I think it´s going to be weird. Real weird. Like, here honey, take off that silly dress and put on some boy clothes before we make the beast with two backs.
Equally puzzling to me in this play is why certain characters love other characters. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to their love interests. Viola is all about the sleaze ball Orsino even she knows him by passing along love letters to Olivia and hearing him rant about the weakness of female love, and yet she falls for him. I want to emphasize this point for a second, Orsino is one of the biggest sleaze ball characters in Shakespeare. What the hell does she see in him? Olivia falls for Viola while she is loosely disguised as a boy, and there is clear sexual tension between them, so it´s like an undercover lesbian love thing going on. Then there is Antonio and Sebastian, which is a whole other complicated mess. Are they just good buddies or is there also sexual attraction? Easily argued either way really.
Maybe the point is this, there is no sense in love. That is exaggerated a bit in these plays, but maybe my man Bill is saying you´re not supposed to understand attraction between two people. Two people in love often is baffling to the outsider, but really who cares about the outsiders, love exists and there is no making sense of it. This is probably a good moral to walk away with in Mexico, as I watch stunningly beautiful women walking along side guys who look like they belong in an MC Beaner music video. Life is confusing man.

Quotes
My stars shine darkly over me: the malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours, therefore I shall crave of you your leave that I may bear my evils alone. 2.1.3
Come what may, I do adore thee so, That danger shall seem sport, and I will go. 2.1.47
O time! Thou must untangle this, not I; It is too hard a knot for me to untie. 2.2.83
For women are like roses, whose fair flower Being once displayed, doth fall that very hour…As love doth give my heart; no woman´s heart So big, to hold so much; they lack retention. 2.4.55
I am ready to distrust mine eyes And wrangle with my reason, that persuades me 4.3.26
Come, boy, with me; my thoughts are ripe in mischief. 5.1.37