by Guest Reviewer T.E. Klunzinger
(The AARP advises that Seniors should not attempt to review different Shakespeare plays on successive nights; but here we are.)
(From Jane: Much gratitude to Tom for doing stalwart Double Duty Shakespeare for this admittedly non-Shakespeare fan.)
This popular Shakespeare comedy is now playing at MSU’s Summer Circle Theatre through Sunday (although rain may interfere) and its relatively large cast provides a pleasing interpretation of “Dream” which, like all other Shakespeare scripts, doesn’t have much in the way of stage directions (“Hamlet enters”).
That being the case, the production you see on the stage is very much up to the director; and my Shakespeare experiences of the last two nights were in marked contrast to each other. For starters, LCC’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” was outdoors, with no body mikes, and city background noise, yet the actors, in declaiming to the crowd, were stimulated to passionate performances which were perfectly audible.
Yet this production, using the body mikes standard to Summer Circle, begat room-temperature voices which often lacked passion and were somewhat inaudible. Did/could they possibly try it without the body mikes?
And, as in many Shakespeare plays, there are often two characters debating a concept while several other characters are apparently just standing around with nothing to do. In “Lost,” however, the director made sure that they always had something to do and that usually someone was in motion somewhere on the stage.
Here, however, a great many scenes are well-composed and very nice to look at; but only two people were talking and/or in motion. That is not audience-friendly. OK, class dismissed.
There is much to enjoy in this “Dream,” starting with the silks, gowns and robes wafted by the winds of a soft summer night. There is a very versatile bed which appears in many settings; and it’s fun to hear The Eurythmics (‘Sweet Dreams…”) now and then — with a dash of choreography.
As Lysander, Oscar Quiroz is eminently watchable; Zach Deande made an entertaining ass of himself as Nick Bottom, and in the penultimate Pyramus and Thisbe scene, Andrew Brown is transcendent as Thisbe.
Backstage Drama: during the final dress rehearsal, Mona Eldahshoury as Puck suffered a freak fall, such that the show was stopped and she was told not to walk on the injured leg for several days. The cast then regrouped the next morning to work out the details and then opening night, Puck was making mischief in fine form onstage, albeit being pushed around in a wheelchair by the director, Thalia Pearce (whom you weren’t supposed to see).
Again, gather your camp chair and check the forecast, so you too can enjoy your own “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” 7pm Friday/Saturday; 6pm Sunday.
https://theatre.msu.edu/sct/