Review by Cathleen O’Donnal for Front Row Reviewers
Renaissance Now Theatre & Film brings us a fresh new A Midsummer Night’s Dream, taking place at a 70’s Rock Music Festival so be ready for hilarity, love, and magic. One device that RNT&F has brought to their productions is an innovative “Now Speak.” The players speak in modern-day verbiage, and the updates in this play are introduced to the audience with spunk and verve.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is directed by Laurie Harrop Purser, assisted by Assistant Director also in charge of Vocal/Text work by Steven Rimke. The direction of the play and work with the text is visionary as they adapt this rollickingly fun comedy to the late 60’s/early 70’s Laurel Canyon California Rock Music Festival. The innovative California Rock music culture scene introduces Midsummer as Theseus and Hippolyta kick off the play with a battle of the bands style “sing off” competition. The “mechanicals,” that eventually perform the play within the play, is a band that opens for the stars performing a few numbers seven minutes before the show starts.
The pairs of lovers experience radically shifting love triangles that provide rip-roaring good fun, as they all chase off into the woods of the Canyons to face their demons and their dreams as fairies appear and play tricks on the mortals, eventually helping them all to come to their senses. The play and this adaptation promise great fun, adventurous chase scenes, and accessible Shakespeare.
The production team, Costume Design by Brooklyn Cordner, Music and Sound Design by Nate Lowry, Lighting/Projections/Set Design by Rychard Curtiss bring this production the right amount of spooky, spunky, and delight.
Memorable are the Fairy King Oberon and Queen Titania played by Rick Macy and Amanda Williams, along with the fairy henchman, Puck, played by Ryan Hopkins. As upheaval in the domestic relationship, even among the fairy kingdom, rises to a climax over a mortal changeling child, so this bright comedy hatches plots among the immortals and mortals that ultimately test the idea of true and faithful love. Oberon, through Puck’s handiwork, plays a trick on his love Titania, transforming the backup band drummer in the band into a donkey and charming her to be madly in love with the “Bohemian swain.” The relationship between Macy’s Oberon and Hopkins’ Puck is so rich with mischief and humor, illuminating and humanizing the moments in the great Shakespeare text. Williams as Titania is elegant and powerful, and her portrayal demonstrates a mature grasp on the dynamics of a long-time relationship, until, of course, she is tricked to fall madly for a beast. The trick teaches them both how precious deep and lasting love is can be, and encourages couples therapy, even though this is played out in a ridiculous and humorous manner. Puck is pure magic in his portrayal first as the band “roadie” and then as the fairy henchman.
Theseus, played by Demond Walker and Hippolyta, played by Yulissa Torres represent the truly famous rock star qualities throughout their performances. In the opening “sing off” their portrayal of a James Brown and Janis Joplin types are supported with truly beautiful voices that ring in the outdoors as Theseus “woos her with his songs.”
The pairs of lovers, who begin the play by pleading with Theseus, “the Duke of Rock” to decide who gets to marry beloved Hermia (here played brilliantly by Sydney Olson as a diva Hollywood actress) compete for her love and the approval of the Duke in a massive brawl that explodes with humor. As it is determined that Demetrius, played by Seven Harrison, will be rewarded with Hermia’s marriage, her lover and she decide to run away into the forests of Laurel Canyon to escape her fate. Demetrius’s former fiancé, Helena, tells him of their flight, and follows him as well into the woods. Here they are encountered by the fairy kingdom and are also tricked by the “magic flower” into seeing their infatuations and illusions of love in a new light are played with tremendous craftsmanship as the actors switch from one love interest to another. Sonja Hugo plays a most memorable Helena, with nuance and surprising depth of humor. Lysander, played by Joshua Johnson is an involving hopeless romantic, with genuine flair for the Shakespearian language. Sydney Olson rocks the stage with her dynamic flirtations, and Harrison is caught in the complications of loving Hugo’s character against his will, which falls out in much chase and humor. Their fight scene is particularly well crafted by visionary director Laurie Harrop-Purser.
Certainly stealing the show are the characters known as the “mechanicals” who are typically workers, but in this music festival setting, Harrop has crafted these characters into a “wannabe” band that is opening for Theseus and Hippolyta’s sing off competition. They introduce the setting, singing in wonderful period harmonies the songs of the times such as “If I Had a Hammer,” Twist & Shout,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. These delightful and engaging characters show the common man’s hope to distinguish himself in this case through their band and later as they play the famous “play within the play” of Pyramus and Thisbe. Then in a spin of genius, Harrop transforms these characters into Titania’s Fairies: Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed, as Oberon’s fairy mischievous Puck prompts the audience asking, “Are we seeing the fairies yet?” Then on come the Mechanicals with flower crowns and full late 60’s flower children attire. Stand out among them is the drummer Bottom, played by Austin Zimmermann (in the lead role of Hamlet in this repertory double feature) who is transformed from the wannabe drummer into a donkey by Puck’s magic.
The direction of the play by Harrop is truly brilliant, and while transformative of the text, changing the locations and the time era with ease, she has also captured the “season” with the implementation of the wonderful songs, the attitudes of the characters, the costumes, and most profoundly a unifying concept that allows a exceptional playground for the highly physical, musical, magic show to play out in the setting so insightfully. We in the audience are transformed, too, imagining how this Shakespeare play so well fits in a more contemporary time. Rimke worked on the text, but also assistant directed and brought forth yet more humor in characters and intentions. Bravo to this company for great and new work with this piece.
The Castle Amphitheatre in Provo, a vast structure with turrets of stone and timber, provides the mythical setting for the Shakespeare’s popular comedy.
Renaissance Now Theatre & Film’s 2023 season includes a festival in repertory of two beloved Shakespeare plays. The performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays in repertory with Hamlet.
Midsummer on Mondays and Fridays, and Hamlet Thursdays and Saturdays, July 1- 15, 2023. The shows begin at 7:30 with house opening at 7:00 pm.
General Admission $15, Student/Senior $7, Group of 4 $20.
It is advised that patrons bring water, and blankets or chairs, as the mythical setting is a stone Greek style amphitheatre. Bug spray may or may not be needed, as well. The show does begin with the sun shining brightly and it is hot. But there is shade on each side and as soon as the sun goes down (about 20 minutes into the play), it’s very nice. I brought a quilt to sit on and was perfectly comfortable.
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