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A Midsummer Night's Dream
WALLFOUR.COM As well known and as popular as William Shakespeare’s plays are throughout the world, there is always room for creativity and interpretation. This freedom gives directors and actors greater freedom to present material that can be fresh and new, yet still respecting the playwright’s intentions. Such was the approach of the cast and crew of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, currently running at The Chance Theater. The classic love-comedy is certainly one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays and the Chance Theater does it great justice in this thoroughly enjoyable rendition. The most important element in the Chance Theater’s production is the strong performances of its cast. A successful run of this play include a strong performance in the role of Puck. The Chance and director Ken Rugg have found a gem in Gabriel Robins. Robins clearly relishes his role, and brings the character to life with a boundless energy combined with childlike innocence. His energy is contagious as he bounces all over the stage and does not let down from start to finish. Another strong performance comes from Joseph Horn, in the role of Oberon. Horn is both scheming and humorous as he plots with Puck to “aid” in the love lives of the two main couples of the play and with his own relations with his wife Titania. He helps Puck move the play along at a solid pace and carries a strong stage presence for the entire play. Speaking of Titania, hats off to Hanna Goss for her portrayal of this Fairy Queen. Goss oozes sensuality and passion and has a hint of mischievous humor as she falls for Bottom. Opposite Oberon, with their strong chemistry, the two characters were paired perfectly. The first couple in the play, Lysander and Hermia, played by Dominic Pham and Ruby Wendell, were both played with passion and sincerity by both actors. They come across to the audience as innocent pawns in love. They show a loving passion on stage and are rewarded in the end for their love for each other, even after Puck’s erroneous love potions. Our second couple, Demetrius and Helena, played by Casey Long and Mandy Hodge, are also a strong pairing. These two have some very funny moments as Helena pursues Demetrius in the beginning of the play and Demetrius later returning the favor thanks to the workings of Oberon and Puck. With his aristocratic air, Long is hilarious throughout the show. Hodge, again in the role of Helena, keeps the audience on her side all the way to the end of the show when she finally lands her love. Some of the best moments of the play occur with the actors who are a part of the play within the play: Pyramus and Thisbe. The ensemble for that part of the play were excellent and definitely produced some of the show's highlights. A salute to goes out to both Alex Bueno, who played Tom Snout straight -out-of-Brooklyn and to Khai Van Tran, who played Francis Flute and a scene stealer as Thibee. More applause goes to Alan Hartung as Nick Bottom. Alan brought the character to life with humor and gave one of the best performances of the show. His over the top portrayal of the lead actor for the play within the play was the perfect fit for the show. An equal amount of credit for the success of the show should be given to director Ken Rugg. He does an excellent job blending different styles to weave through the play. With an eclectic approach, he blends modern and traditional styles to bring the show together. In costumes alone, we see Victorian influences right alongside influences from your local soccer-mom. But most importantly, Rugg allows the actors room for experimentation in their performances while still keeping the show true to the script. This production is also fortunate to have multi-talented people as part of the cast and crew. For example, Joseph Horn, who plays Oberon, also doubles as the set Designer and swordplay choreographer. His simple set design works perfectly for the show and he does a nice job with the fight scene designs. Overall, A Midsummer
Night’s Dream at The Chance Theater
was a thoroughly enjoyable production and I would certainly recommend
this show to any audience member who is a fan of the Bard or just good
theater.
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AOL DIGITAL CITY From the moment Oberon the Fairy King steps onstage to deliver the opening address -- and admonish audience members to "please turn off cell phones and pagers" -- it's clear that this isn't your grandpa's Shakespeare. Instead, Chance delivers a modern-day rendition of the classic. It's a whimsical performance where the protagonists wear blue jeans and the fairies' Royal Court dines on Twinkies instead of nectar. The details are so clever and irreverent, even the Bard might have approved. The story remains the same, though: When the worlds of human and fairy collide, humans do their best to bumble through, as invisible fairies, led by Puck, play one trick after another on them. In the final act, the fairies settle down to watch 'Pyramus and Thisbe,' and the audience is treated to a play-within-a-play. Of all Shakespeare's works, this is one of the most lighthearted. --Lena Katz, AOL Digital City, May 23, 2003
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NORTHERN LIGHTS Perfect for those long, balmy late Spring evenings, Shakespeare's immortal and immemorial lark draws parallels with contemporary life on multiple levels, as fresh today and in bold ways ahead of its time. Love stories enmesh in a tangled web of imbroglios, starting with the nuptials of Theseus, Duke of Athens and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, a regal pair whose authority is subject only to the higher whims of Oberon, King of the Fairies. Little has changed since the Bard's days, as couples pair off for proms, with petty jealousies over boys' favors as we see Hermia, loved by Lysander who reciprocates this love, but also by Demetrius, to whom her hand has been promised by her father Egeus. Poor Helena loves Demetrius, and is friends with Hermia and Lysander. Alas, Demetrius does not return her affections as she pursues him mercilessly against his wish. They eloped in Shakespearian times also, it seems, as Hermia chooses exile with her beau over, gasp, death, or a life of virginal nunnery in a convent. Who can blame her? In the woods, eerily suggested with half a dozen wood boards in the background, and two wistful silhouettes of artfully twisted metal shapes on either side of the stage, Oberon plots a malevolent revenge upon his own object of love, the sensuous and capricious Titania who has chosen to adopt a human boy against his wishes. His faithful aide-de-camp, Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, is ready for his master's orders, spriting whimsically with his entourage of pint-size fairies. Meanwhile, also in the woods, the artisan troupe of the Mechanicals is rehearsing for a possible performance at the Duke's wedding. The group is not without its flaws and ego problems, and disbands when Nick Bottom the weaver returns as an ass, with whom Titania falls in love under Oberon's spell. Puck confuses the two gentlemen and ladies, and thus, both men awake madly in love with Helena and scorning sweet Hermia, to the distress of both damsels. The guys confront each other with drawn swords, the gals with spiteful words, getting into an epic catfight, a highlight of the evening. But the summer solstice night, around Saint John's day at the end of June, does end at dawn as it must, with all Puck's mischievous mishaps righted with the perfect end: Hermia with Lysander and Helena with Demetrius, so that even Egeus can desist no longer, and the revels may proceed at Theseus' Palace with the full performance of Pyramus and Thisbe, a spoof of Romeo and Juliet, butchered by the inept Mechanicals for the not so subtle sneers of the sophisticated palatial audience. Retired CalState Long Beach Theater Arts Director Ken Rugg set the costuming in contemporary times, complete with sports jerseyed fairies. The dream within a dream, an intrinsic element of the play as well as the 'reality' of theater, is accentuated by Oberon's conspiracy with the audience, with a mock-Shakespearian prologue with its usual remarks regarding electronic equipment, and Theseus and Hippolyta being mere puppets in his crafty hands. Fairies were benigned by Shakespeare to become the impish creatures we believe them to be today. However, the little people crew seem strangely static in this staging and lack the ethereal quality we impute them. Puck is upgraded as a superhero cum skateboarder punk, and doubles up as Snug, one of the Mechanicals, a rather puzzling double casting which deters from Gabriel Robins' strong characterization of Puck. Ruby Wendell as Hermia and Mandy Hodge as Helen are an excellent match, with Casey Long as Demetrius and Dominic Pham as Lysander. Hannah Goss as Titania and Karen Webster as Hippolyta are wonderfully regal, and Alan Hartung is a truculent Nick Bottom. Walter Plinge's sound design draws on exotic oriental interludes which convey a sense of mystery in an otherwise sober staging limited in part by the constraints of the tiny stage the Chance has to work with. This adaptation's clever innovations should please the
most discriminating theatergoer without alienating purist Shakespearian
fans. I dared to bring my own teen son, his third Shakespearian experience.
He fell asleep at the first and labeled the second child abuse and torture.
I am happy to report he stayed awake through this one, perhaps the greatest
compliment of any staging.
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