Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Piccolo Theatre)

  
  
A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Written by William Shakespeare  
Directed by Jason Martin
at Piccolo Theatre, 600 Main St., Evanston (map)
thru May 3  |  tickets: $10-$25   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
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Young at heart and eternal in relevance

Piccolo Theatre presents

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Review by Clint May 

Arguably the Bard’s most versatile of plays gets a keen injection of youthful energy in Piccolo Theatre’s final production of the season. Buoyed by the earnestness that imbues many of their comedies, this tale of the foibles of love and the fools it makes of us all is a splendid example of this accessible and relatable legend.

Though he’s just as good a choice as his rival, Lysander (Elliot Baker) finds himself at odds with his love Hermia’s (Diana Coates) father Egeus (David W.M. Kelch). Turns out his patriarchal parsimony has limited his choice to a man he has more affection for than his daughter—Demetrius (Jake Jones). To settle the matter, he appeals to King Theseus (Michael Saubert, Jr.) as his own wedding to Hippolyta (Lauren Goode) is in preparation. Faced with a life of celibacy or death, Hermia and Lysander decide to abscond in the night. This is all well and good for Hermia’s frenemy Helena (Deborah Craft), who sees an opportunity to see her own sycophantic affections for Demetrius finally realized.

Little do the quadrangle of mostly interchangeable lovers know that their goings-on are being monitored by the another king, Oberon of Fairy (David Weber). Ever jealous of his wife Titania’s (Vanessa Hughes) prizes (in this case, a young Indian boy), he takes a break from revenging to instruct his servant Puck (Jude Hansen) to meddle in these mortal’s affairs. Elsewhere in the forest, a troupe of actors en route to the royal wedding get their most pompous member, Bottom (Amy Gorelow), turned into the literal ass he is. Thanks to Cupid’s potion and Puck’s ineptitude, roles are reversed and the mighty are brought low by love’s transformative power.

Martin has turned the madcappian qualities inherent in A Midsummer Night’s Dream up to 11, which finds its most ready vessel in Craft’s performance. More than any other person on the stage, she inhabits the contradictions and yearnings of love with a performance that brings just the right amount of pathos while still getting many of the best laughs. Gorelow is, however, a close second for that spot with her Nick Bottom. Hansen’s Puck is an impish and acrobatic delight, investing his scenes with just a hint of sexy sauciness that might not have otherwise existed. I’m not quite as behind the decision to give Oberon a Freddie Mercury makeover—a few of his scenes get just this side of too sexual for the kind of lightheartedness on display. This is still an impressive mounting for a production in which the terms “just graduated” and “debut” are a recurring motif in the cast bios. Joshua D. Allard’s costumes are an inspired delight, mingling multiple styles and eras with the abandon Shakespeare showed with his character’s hearts.

At two and a half hours, this Dream could stand a little more brevity with its wit. It’s not easy to sit through that long of a sustained romp. Thankfully this is heavily mitigated by the zeal of the cast. In the intimate setting of Piccolo’s space, the in-the-round action bubbles over into the shallow rows of seating. It’s a fulsome frolic in the forest that will have you laughing even as you stir in unease at the truth of Shakespeare’s legendary insight into love’s fickleness.

Rating: ★★★

A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues through May 3rd at Piccolo Theatre, 600 Main Street, Evanston (map), with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3pm.  Tickets are $10-$25, and are available by phone (847-424-0089) or online through PrintTixUSA.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at PiccoloTheatre.com.  (Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, includes an intermission)

Photos by Robert Erving Potter III 

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artists

cast

Lauren Goode (Hippolyta), Amy Gorelow (Nick Bottom), Vanessa Hughes (Titania), David W.M. Kelch (Egeus, Peter Quince), Nathan Thompson (Tom Snout, Cobweb), Elliot Baker (Lysander), Diana Coates (Hermia), Deborah Craft (Helena), Sammi Grant (Philostrate, Fairy 1), Jude Hansen (Puck), Jake Jones (Demetrius), Rocco Renda (Snug, Moth), Michael Saubert, Jr. (Theseus), Tara Tisch-Wallace (Robin Starveling, Mustardseed), David Weber (Oberon), Dan Wenzel (Francis Flute, Peaseblossom)

behind the scenes

Jason Martin (director), Ruth Hudson (production manager), Chris Chapin (stage manager), Zee Cronin (assistant stage manager), Joshua D. Allard (costume designer), Stephanie Neilitz, Elyse Estes (costume assistants), Sarah Lewis (scenic designer), Aimee Warshall (lighting designer), Aaron Quick (sound designer), Kate Solomon-Tilley (production volunteer), Robert Erving Potter III (photos)

 

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