A Midsummer Nights Dream the Orpheum Performing Arts Center August 17
Yesterday I saturday on the famous thrust phase of the Guthrie Theater and watched a bunch of soldiers, lovers, and fairies trip the light fantastic, sing, fly, converse, love, hate, and generally cavort around in a bare circular space. Or was it all a dream? Such is the Guthrie's latest product of perhaps Shakespeare's all-time loved romantic comedy, A Midsummer Night'southward Dream, that after 3 hours of spellbinding theater, you're not quite certain if what you saw just happened, or perhaps, as Puck suggests in his epilogue, it was all only a dream. Artistic Director Joe Dowling has returned to an sometime favorite in his final flavour at the Guthrie, assembling a gorgeous and talented cast of local favorites with a few national talents thrown in. It'due south no wonder that he returned to this testify (a version of which was concluding seen in 2008); this Midsummer is a dream of a production, with plenty of spectacle in the grade of dancing, flight, singing fairies, humor in the grade of typical Shakesperean hijinks, and heart in this sweet romance that ends with a nifty happily e'er after. Everything about information technology is truly a delight.
The plot of Midsummer is familiar to most theater-goers, being a frequently produced play. Lysander loves Hermia and she him, but her father Theseus, duke of Athens, has betrothed her to Demetrius, who too loves her although she does non return his love. Lysander and Hermia vow to run away together, and Helena, whose dear for Demetrius has recently been rejected, tells him so that he will follow, and she in plow follows him. As we know, strange things tin happen when yous go into the wood, especially in this case every bit the immature lovers come across a group of mischievous fairies, who please in nada more than creating havoc among humans (if you lot've ever institute an object in a dissimilar location than y'all left it, that might be fairies at piece of work). Through a serial of mix-ups, both Demetrius and Lysander are bewitched into believing they love Helena, who, like a nerdy teenager tired of being the butt of jokes, does not believe them. Hermia is dislocated, devastated, and then furious at this plow of events, and the mayhem continues until the fairies decide to set things right again. Some other subplot follows a troupe of actors rehearsing for a play, suffering from the well-nigh horrible and hilarious actorly cliches, which allows for some delightful poking fun at oneself. Oh, and one of them is turned into an donkey and is wooed by the queen of the fairies. Information technology'south a whole lot of silliness that allows for some wonderful encounters, fights, conversations, and dances amongst the large cast of characters.
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| Puck and the flight fairies (photo past Dan Norman) |
And what a bandage information technology is. It'southward and so lovely to see so many familiar and honey faces on ane stage, while discovering a few new favorites who are thrown into the mix to continue things fresh. Showtime among the many delights is the fairy King'due south attendant who is responsible for causing much of the commotion. Tyler Michaels brings his unique concrete consciousness to the part of Puck, creating a character that's not quite human, almost reptilian, with a bit of Gollum thrown in. Tyler seems unbound by the laws of gravity that inhibit us mere mortals, equally he premises around the phase with deep knee bends, head cocked to one side as he gleefully watches the mischief he has created, thoroughly enjoying "what fools these mortals exist." He's like a mischievous loyal pet of Oberon's, who is given a long leash but sometimes needs to be pulled back when he goes also far, not for malicious reasons, but simply to come across what will happen. (And there's even an inside joke for those of usa who saw and loved Tyler in My Fair Lady last summertime.)
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| the Actors (Jay Albright, Peter Thomson, Andrew Weems, Kris L. Nelson, Angela Timberman, and Michael Fell, photo by Dan Norman) |
Every bit the starting time fairy, Nike Kadri is making her Guthrie debut after making an impression on stages around boondocks. She looks and sounds fantastic, singing a few songs and leading the fairies in their trip the light fantastic toe (although not a musical, there are a scattering of original songs by Keith Thomas, with some brilliant choreography by co-director David Bolger). Christina Acosta Robinson (who returns to the Guthrie afterward participating in the Guthrie Experience a few years ago) is admittedly regal as both Titania and Hippolyta, fairy and human royalty, and Nicholas Carrière (a Guthrie newcomer) effortlessly transitions from the stern and slightly square Knuckles Theseus to the powerful and cool Oberon.
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| the Lovers (Emily Kitchens, Casey Hoekstra, Zach Keenan, and Eleonore Dendy, photo by Dan Norman) |
The troupe of actors is comprised of a bunch of local comic geniuses (including the ever hilarious Jay Albright and Angela Timberman), with Eastward Declension actor Andrew Weems (too seen at the Guthrie as Uncle Vanya) as the buffoonish and blustering Bottom, delivering the well-nigh ridiculously drawn-out comic death scene I've ever seen. In fact, the entire play-within-a-play is hysterical as performed by the "Community Theater of Athens." The four lovers could not be more charming (or look meliorate in underwear) than local actors Eleonore Dendy, Casey Hoekstra, and Zach Keenan, along with Twin Cities newcomer Emily Kitchens as the eager and slightly awkward Helena.
For this product, the Guthrie has added a half dozen rows of bleacher seating effectually the back of the thrust phase, creating an in-the-round issue, almost like y'all're at the circus. If you lot're lucky enough to snag one of these seats (available online or call the box office for details), you're led down a stairway and into a clandestine hallway through the bowels* of the Guthrie, and suddenly you arrive on the stage. There are plenty of ushers and signs along the way then that you don't "accidentally" wander off into a restricted surface area. It's a bully place from which to watch the show, although some of the furnishings of the video projections at the back of the stage are lost considering you accept to tear your optics away from the phase (a difficult job) to look backside you at the screen. One of the reasons it'south so difficult to turn away from the phase is Fabio Toblini'southward gorgeously rich costumes, from Hippolyta's elegant gowns, to the lovers' mod clothing, to the actors' airheaded get-ups, to the fairies' barely there tribal pieces.
It may be dreary biting midwinter here in Minnesota, just it feels like warm and colorful midsummer on the Guthrie'south thrust stage. The magical, mystical, mischievous dream continues through the cease of March. Information technology's non a brusque play (clocking in at near three hours including intermission), but it's chock total of delights for the optics, ears, mind, and heart.
*If you want to encounter more of the bowels of the Guthrie, take a backstage tour, offered most weekends.
This article also appears on Broadway World Minneapolis.
Source: http://www.cherryandspoon.com/2015/02/a-midsummer-nights-dream-at-guthrie.html