A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Independent Shakespeare Company’s 2023 Production) Theatre Review

production photo by Grettel Cortes

There is something just exactly right about seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream outside at a park, where the crowd gathers more according to its own desires rather than to a prearranged seating plan, where things are a little less orderly, and perhaps a bit more joyful. Where the audience is ready and eager to accept magic, and even to help create it – just look at the number of kids who were dressed in some sort of fairy costume last night at the official opening of the Independent Shakespeare Company’s new production of the play. The audience wants to be a part of the dream. That is part of the draw of the play. And Independent Shakespeare Company’s production at Griffith Park takes that into consideration and helps make the dream a reality. Or the reality a dream? The company does that by creating a space that is much larger than just the physical stage for the magic to occur. The actors not only make entrances and exits through the crowd, but use the audience space effectively as a part of the stage. That is particularly true of the fairy characters, who feel no restrictions to their movement. And why should they? They move as they will through the space that the mortals occupy on stage, and so why not in the audience as well? What difference is it to them? And so the magic is within the audience. And that is only a part of the great joy and charm of this production.

The plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream deals largely with love and attraction and marriage, and as Lysander tells us at the beginning, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” Indeed, for there are all kinds of delightful twists along the way. But it is all leading to the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, and so there is (or at least, can be) a sense of celebration at its heart, which this new production uses and emphasizes to its advantage. To that end, the production is given a 1970s vibe, and as the audience arrives, songs like “We Are Family,” “One Way Or Another” and “I Will Survive” play over the speakers to get everyone in the mood. And a disco ball hangs above the stage. After the announcements, rather than saying something along the lines of “And now we present A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the actor shouts, “Let’s have A Midsummer Night’s Dream!” Again, those in the audience as well as those on stage are part of the dream. As the performance begins, Theseus (David Melville) and Hippolyta (Sabra Williams) enter to a disco beat, holding hands, until Hippolyta pulls hers away. Theseus is dressed in a white jacket and black pants, while Hippolyta has more of a period costume, a white dress and sword, setting her apart from the others. Interestingly, she has an interpreter (Carene Rose Mekertichyan), and so Theseus has to pause while the interpreter translates for Hippolyta, which creates some wonderfully comedic moments. David Melville is always able to find the comedy, and delivers a less serious Theseus than is usual, though still chooses the moments to apply his authority.

Demetrius (Kelvin Morales) assumes something of an adversarial stance with Lysander from the beginning, shooting him a sort of haughty look when Egeus (Richard Azurdia) says that Demetrius has his consent to marry Hermia. And then when Lysander (Patrick Batiste) urges Demetrius to marry Hermia’s father instead of trying to wed Hermia, his enjoyment of the insult results in a slap in the face from Demetrius. These two seem to lack the history of friendship that Hermia and Helena have, except that they do take some enjoyment in the competition between them. Later in that first scene, Lysander says “Swift as a shadow, short as any dream,” and Hermia says “As due to love as thoughts and dreams and sighs.” In both instances, the word “dream” is emphasized, and in Lysander’s delivery of the word, there is an indication of everything that is taking place and the very space of the action. It is another subtle way in which the audience is made to feel a part of the magic. And speaking of the friendship between Hermia (Justine Faith) and Helena (Noriani Estevez), there is a nice early moment when Hermia’s tone changes from joyful to more somber, as she realizes she will be away from friends. She even turns to Helena in that moment, a nice touch.

With the Mechanicals, there is an air of celebration and excitement from the start, when Bottom (William Elsman) arrives with drinks to share with the group. He immediately puts himself in the center of the action, which he so clearly assumes is his natural position. This character has perhaps the strongest 1970s vibe of any, with his swagger and sense of self-importance. And with his wardrobe. And the way he delivers certain lines and even certain words, such as “ladies” in “which the ladies cannot abide.” For him, this play is going to be fun, providing him a chance to strut his stuff in front of an important audience. And the others soak it up, and cheer him on, some in more or less awe of him. Bottom seems to be a big fish in a small pond, and enjoys his position. William Elsman does a fantastic and fearless job, not holding back at all, particularly as he gets carried away with the idea of also playing the lion. Quince (Hiwa Chow Elms) is female in this production, and has something of a crush on Bottom herself. Flute (Carene Rose Mekertichyan) is also female, and so when she is given the role of Thisby in the play, the line about having “a beard coming” is cut. But with a modern setting, it makes sense that the group would not be entirely male. As Bottom begins to rehearse his part, he adds the line, “I’m a lover, not a tyrant” before exiting, an amusing and apt reference to the Lazy Lester song “I’m A Lover, Not A Fighter.”

Music plays a strong part in this production, with a full drum kit and keyboard set up just stage right. There are several musical cues delivered on keyboard throughout the production, related to the fairies, as well as some short actual jams. When Puck (Jacqueline Misaye) enters, is to accompaniment on the keyboard. And later, after waking, Bottom begins to sing his dream as he exits, to the tune of the theme from Spider-man (or perhaps “Particle Man”). When the Fairy (in this case Peaseblossom, played by Carene Rose Mekertichyan) delivers the “Over hill, over dale” speech, the lines are addressed to specific people in the front of the audience, which last night included a little girl dressed as a fairy, who responded to her, an unexpected and adorable moment. Oberon (David Melville) and Titania (Sabra Williams) enter along different paths through the audience, in glorious costumes. Elizabeth Cox is the costume designer, and there is something of a 1970s science fiction element to some of the fairy costumes, which is just delightful. Titania takes the stage first, and when she tells the tale of the changeling boy’s mother, Oberon sits on the stage to listen. The fairies act out the story that Titania recounts, which is actually quite moving. And though Oberon at one point feigns boredom during her speech, it is clear that he loves her. Actually, this production makes clear just how important love is to the king of the fairies, not just regarding his Titania, but shown in the way he quickly sides with Helena and wishes to make things right between her and Demetrius, and the lengths to which he’s willing to go to aid them (or to have Puck go).

Several of the characters directly address the audience, as when Lysander and Hermia move through the crowd, lost and seeking direction, and when Bottom and Quince go in search of an almanac. Also, Puck moves through the crowd, looking for the Athenian. Not getting any help, Puck says, “Just a bunch of Angelenos,” which of course gets a big laugh from the audience. Jacqueline Misaye is excellent as Puck. I love her look of disdain as Puck comes upon the Mechanicals. And Puck takes great delight not only in transforming Bottom but in the terrified reactions of the others. I also love how the fairies pick their moments to demonstrate their power, as Puck does when anointing Lysander’s eyes and again later on “Up and down, up and down/I will lead them up and down.” The change is remarkable, reminding us that, though they mostly seem to be in good spirits, these beings are not to be trifled with. We see that from Oberon and Titania as well, and of course the parallels to Theseus and Hippolyta are made the stronger through the actors playing both parts. The moment when Titania flexes her magic muscles is particularly good, as she tells Bottom, “Out of this wood do not desire to go.” She speaks with a great and frightening force, before returning to a sweeter tone, which is wonderful. The entire cast is incredibly strong, but Sabra Williams is outstanding as both Hippolyta and Titania, and David Melville is excellent as Oberon and Theseus. Bottom, in this production, has donkey ears that actually match his outfit, a delightful touch. This guy cannot stop being his own brand of 1970s cool, even when affected by fairies. Bottom is initially frightened by the fairies, which makes perfect sense, but he soon enjoys his position among them.

Puck is delightful when watching Demetrius and Hermia, casually sipping from a drink since he believed up until then that his work for the night had been concluded. Then Puck stands over Demetrius, trying to wake him while Lysander woos Helena. Perhaps the best moment is when Puck struts after successfully leading Demetrius to Helena. Helena also has a great moment in this scene when she begins to enjoy the fact that the two men are fawning over her, one kissing each arm. For just that moment she forgets the trouble and enjoys being the pursued rather than the pursuer. And Hermia’s shocked reaction to Lysander’s “Fair Helena” is hilarious. All four of the lovers are excellent here. There is some funny business with a sleeping bag and Hermia during the exchanges about her little size. And it is Puck’s magic that leads to her line, “I am amaz’d, and know not what to say.” The bit where Puck leads the four around is presented in an interesting way, with the four lovers forming a square, with Puck in the middle.

The next morning, when Hippolyta speaks, she delivers a line in English rather than her native tongue. She has been learning (a quick study, apparently), a nice hint that things are stronger between her and Theseus (and leading us to wonder what might have occurred between them while we’ve all been off in fairy land). Now Hippolyta takes Theseus’ hand willingly. Egeus is particularly funny when flustered over how his consent has been defeated. What is particularly interesting is the way Theseus watches Demetrius explain his love for Helena, reminding us of how Oberon watched Demetrius spurn Helena in the earlier scene. The four lovers step downstage and look out at the audience when Demetrius has his lines about it still seeming that they are dreaming. A clue for the audience that we are still within the dream. And indeed, magic is still afoot, for in this production Theseus is not interested in hearing the Mechanicals’ play until Puck enters and touches his forehead. What has changed Puck’s mind about the Mechanicals’ work? Or is it just Puck’s playful nature that wishes to see this ridiculous entertainment performed before the Duke? At any rate, their play is a delight to behold, with Starveling (Daniel DeYoung) and Snout (Jordan Anderson) funny as Moonshine and Wall. Moonshine is particularly good when trying to regain his place after being interrupted. Snug (Richard Azurdia) as the Lion, might at first not cause any ladies to tremble, but he himself certainly trembles, and it is adorable how Thisby tries to pull out something stronger from him for her to react to. And during Quince’s delivery of the prologue, her attraction to Bottom is clear when she describes Pyramus as a “sweet youth and tall,” another wonderful moment. Bottom is hilarious, especially as he milks his death scene. One thing about that worth mentioning is that at one point he has Theseus hold his wooden sword so that he may run upon it. What’s remarkable about that is the actor, William Elsman, played Brutus in the company’s production of Julius Caesar earlier this summer, and in that production Brutus does not die by having someone else hold his sword. So while he did not get to have that bit of action in the earlier production, he does in this one. As for the Bergomask at the end of the Mechanicals’ performance, the band plays and the stage becomes a dance floor, with Puck joining for a bit, and then all the fairies getting a chance to celebrate.

This production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is directed by Melissa Chalsma. It runs through September 3, 2023, with performances every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. There is one intermission, which comes at the end of Act III Scene i. And during the intermission, while you’re waiting in line for the loo or purchasing an Independent Shakespeare Company T-shirt, you can enjoy a short concert. That’s right, adding to the celebratory air of the performance is some delicious 1970s music delivered by cast members, including Lysander on vocals, Oberon on guitar and Bottom on drums. The line between intermission and performance is further blurred by Oberon continuing to play his guitar for the first moments of the second half of the play. This adds to the fun vibe of the production. By the way, don’t be afraid to take friends who are not usually into Shakespeare to this particular production. My girlfriend isn’t the biggest Shakespeare fan, and she is eager to see this production a second time.

intermission