Audience, prepare to get a few hearty laughs when attending this production.
A lot of the scenes are a delight with plenty of hilarious and tear-inducing moments.
The play’s story is about two pairs of lovers who get caught up in a feud amongst themselves in the woods.
Hermia loves Lysander but can’t marry him because Demetrius is betrothed to her, while Hermia’s friend Helena is in love with Demetrius.
All this drama happens while Oberon, king of the fairies, get his minion Puck to use a magical love potion to get Demetrius to fall in love with Helena so they can all live happily ever after.
Puck, at first miserably fails but the fairy corrects her mistake in the end and everyone lives happily ever after. It is a comedy, after all.
Those who haven’t read the play might have difficulty with understanding it.
Some of the actors who portray the lovers seemed a bit rushed when saying their lines. Diction could be improved in that area to help those in the audience who have little acquaintance with the play.
When walking into the theater, the stage does a good job in capturing the audience’s attention.
The production staff captured the magical and dream-like aura of the play very well. With their beautiful mix of lighting, music and stage design, this combination is pleasant to the eyes.
The set’s bright and vivid colors captivate the imagination and transports the audience to a world where young lovers quarrel, fairies roam the woods and a silly acting group practices their play for a wedding.
The 1950s modern twist did a good job of not taking away attention from the play’s story. It offered more current and unobtrusive costumes for a few of the characters, fun music to listen to and a few funny fight scenes with switchblades in lieu of archaic swords.
Oberon the king of fairies and Puck the trickster were entertaining to watch together on stage. Miranda Thomson’s portrayal of Puck and Skylar Johnson’s bigger than life portrayal of Oberon did a good job giving the play funny moments.
Thomson’s Puck was superb and is one portrayal that will stay in mind in the future. His Puck had quirky mannerisms and did a good job of connecting with viewers, especially in parts where Puck talks directly with audience members.
The real show stoppers were the “Mechanicals,” particularly the characters Nick Bottom and Flute. These characters were comical and dramatic in a good way. Their last appearance in Act 5 had them acting out the play of “Pyramus and Thisbe,” a tragedy similar to “Romeo and Juliet,” where they portrayed the two lovers committing suicide in the name of love.
Cameron Johnson, who plays Bottom and Pyramus, was memorable.
When Bottom became a donkey everything else in the world didn’t matter. He masterfully became a literal “ass” and gave plenty of good laughs. Johnson was the perfect actor to see become Bottom the Ass.
Flute the“Mechanical” portrayed by Eric Boone Jr., stole the show with his exaggerated Thisbe. It was a pleasant surprise. When he changed his voice from a low manly voice to a girly wail, it was comedy gold.
This play did its mission in making a lesser known Shakespeare play fun and relatable. The director Patti Ramirez did a good job of making this play come to fruition. Go see this play. It is definitely worth it.
