Arts & Entertainment
‘Midsummer’ magic
Cleverly staged production transports action to the 1940s
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
Through Dec. 30
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Sidney Harman Hall
610 F Street NW
$43-$105
202-547-1122
Christiana Clark as Helena and Amelia Pedlow as Hermia in Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’ (Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company)
Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” brings together fairies, high-born Athenians and a sextet of skilled workmen with theatrical aspirations to create an improbable but magical world where even the most extreme situations end happily. In a visually exciting and extremely fun production currently playing at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Sidney Harman Hall, director Ethan McSweeny keeps the old material fresh.
McSweeny’s take is appropriately magic-filled and newly theatrical. He sets the story in the 1940s inside an empty theater where possibilities are boundless. After all, as the program points out, Shakespeare premiered this play on a bare stage. With two balconies, a couple chandeliers, fly ropes, trap doors, Lee Savage’s beautiful set — a once grand theater — is essentially a blank slate, allowing the action to move convincingly (with the help of Tyler Micoleau’s skilled lighting) from Athens to an enchanted forest.
Cast members are equally versatile. Tim Cambell and Sara Topham appealingly play the comely ruling couple Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, as well as Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the fairies. Adam Green splendidly transforms from Theseus’ oddly buttoned up assistant to literature’s mischief maker extraordinaire, Puck. Dressed in a corset and breeches, Green’s agile fairy nimbly traverses the set delighting in the mayhem he initiates without ever being too cutesy or grating. It’s a terrific performance.
“Dream” is a comic tale of young love, both requited and not. Hermia (Amelia Pedlow) cannot bear Demetrius (Chris Myers), the preppy boy her father insists she must marry. Instead she loves Lysander (Robert Beitzel), a folksy poet who is never without his acoustic guitar. Hermia’s best friend Helena (the excellent Christiana Clark), whose taste runs toward shopping and chocolates, loves Demetrius; but alas Demetrius loves Hermia. In order escape her father’s commands, Hermia and Lysander retreat to the woods.
Along the way, before all ends well, Hermia and Helena, clad only in their underthings, fall into a long, drawn out cat fight (staged wet and goopy by McSweeny). The boys (also stripped to their skivvies) get involved too. Puck watches from the sidelines perched in a theater balcony nibbling on popcorn. Invisible to the young lovers, he descends into the fray, cleverly egging on the battle. It’s a wonderfully well-rehearsed scene that comes off without a hitch.
“Dream’s” amusing subplot focuses on the rude mechanicals, a group of workers including a tinker and a tailor who are keen to perform a work of their own making (Shakespeare’s enduring slapstick-filled skit within the play) for the Duke and Queen. Led by Ted van Griethuysen as Peter Quince, the group of avid amateur thespians includes Robin Starveling (Christopher Bloch), Tom Snout (a dour Herschel Sparber), the slowwitted Snug (Robert Dorfman) and the wonderful David Graham Jones as Francis Flute who plays the mechanical’s enthusiastic ingénue. The group’s most eager member, Nick Bottom, is hilariously played by Bruce Dow as a total drama queen, more than ready for his close up.
McSweeney’s imagery is unforgettable: The show strikingly opens with the Duke (covered in medals) and his first lady (looking more than a little Evita-ish with a chic hat and carefully arranged fur piece), addressing their drab public from the palace balcony. There is the moving tableau featuring an ardent Titania and her disinterested paramour Bottom (who has been magically made into an ass) being pulled across stage by a team of young fairies as they lie in the gutted piano that serves as their bed. Then at the play’s close, there’s Puck making his apologies to the audience lit by the glow of a lone ghost light.
Jennifer Moeller provides a collection of impeccably realized costumes from the 1940s suits and gowns worn by the Athenians to Oberon and Titania’s romantic frayed remnants of court finery. And the fairies’ costumes: vintage foundation garments topped with odds and ends culled from an abandoned backstage.
With its classic storyline, inventive staging and delightful cast that handles the language and comedy more than ably, Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” makes perfect holiday fare both for Bard aficionados and the uninitiated alike.
Blog #1: I was excited about my trip even though Gate 1 Travel notified me there was a change in the itinerary. France decided to close the Burgundy canal for long overdue repairs, so we would be traveling on the C. du Rhone au Rhin. I boarded my Air France flight arriving in Paris on time. Contrary to what I was told to expect, customs went really smoothly.
Day 1: Because customs went quickly, I waited 45 minutes for my pre-arranged driver, to take me to the Gare de Lyon, where I boarded my fast-train to Lyon. A two-hour trip. In Lyon it was a long walk to the hotel, The Radisson Blu, but only because I exited the station on the wrong side. Finally got there, checked into a room on the 36th floor with a spectacular view of Lyon. Then took a stroll around the area, a short nap, and finally it was time for dinner and to meet the rest of the traveling party. There would only be 13 of us in the group. Five of us from D.C./Rehoboth, and eight others. I met our guide Patricia, who is from Portugal, and spoke fluent French and English. She is charming, and clearly very knowledgeable. She worked with Gate 1 for many years. We stayed at the hotel for our welcome dinner. It was a great meal, and over drinks, each of us was asked to introduce ourselves to the group. Aside from the five of us, there were three women traveling alone, one gentleman alone, and two couples. They were from New Jersey, New York, Florida, Houston, and Nebraska. I was sitting across from the woman from Nebraska. Conversation at dinner was pleasant but I quickly realized one person was apparently a MAGA. Wonder if you can guess where she was from, lol. But we also found if we didn’t talk politics, which we agreed not to do, things were fine. After dinner we all headed to our rooms for a good night’s sleep.
DAY 2: We woke to beautiful weather. I headed to the included breakfast at the hotel, which was really very good. After breakfast we boarded a bus for a tour of Lyon. We had a full-size bus for just the 13 of us. Our guide for the half day tour, was Vincent, and he is charming and young, and told us his fiancé lives in Lyon. He was incredibly knowledgeable. We began at the Basilica, which is being repaired on the outside, but the inside is, wow! Incredible stained glass, and there was a service going on in one of the smaller side chapels which I l listened to for a bit. The Basilica is high on the hill and the views of Lyon are spectacular from there. Then we headed to the old city and walked around for an hour, ending up at the smaller cathedral. Directly in front of it they had set up a great market, mostly food, which would be there for a week. Lyon is a foodie paradise, with, we were told, a restaurant, or at least coffee shop, for every 250 people. We then had a choice of staying in town, or going back to the hotel on the bus, which I did. The afternoon and evening were free time to do as we pleased. I headed to the Les Halles du Lyon Paul Bocuse, named after the famous chef, to take a look around. It is a large market with small restaurants connected to most of the stalls. It was charming. I then headed to the huge three-story mall across from our hotel and walked around for an hour. Then caught up on some emails, and writing, and met my friends, Paul and Martin, John and Dan, for dinner at 6. We went to a really nice Bistro, which John had found, two tram stops away from the hotel, and enjoyed some drinks and a relaxed dinner. The owner of the place found us a waitress who spoke great English, which made ordering really easy. After a two-hour great meal, we headed back to the hotel. Riding a tram in Lyon is easy, you just need to use your credit card. It is an honor system. Back at the hotel I headed to my room and packed, our luggage had to be outside the door by 8:00 am the next morning. I set my alarm for 6:30 so I had time to eat at the buffet breakfast. Then it was on the bus to head to our barge.
Baltimore
This John Waters interview has been edited for readability — but perhaps not human decency
Pope of Trash dishes on Trump, plane etiquette, last meal, and more
By WESLEY CASE | At 80 years old, John Waters is still the ideal dinner guest — incisively sharp, quick-witted and funny as hell.
The chic Baltimore native proved it again and again in a recent Zoom interview, calling from his summer home in Provincetown, Mass.
The occasion was the Blu-ray releases of two of his movies — the 1977 dark comedy “Desperate Living” and his enduring 1988 musical “Hairspray” — on June 23 by the Criterion Collection, which publishes restorations of films it deems culturally important. The Criterion stamp of approval has become the gold standard among cinephiles.
“It’s like getting an award,” said Waters, who wrote and directed both films.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The Washington Blade held the seventh annual Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC on Saturday, June 13.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Intersex teacher alleges Fla. school fired him over perceived trans identity
Washington Blade publishes ‘Queering America 250’
As we celebrate 250 years of America, let’s remember our elders
After years of progress, 21st century brings backlash, roll backs
Celebrating 250 years of LGBTQ Icons
PHOTOS: Lost River Pride
PHOTOS: Pride on the Pier
David Archuleta on Mormon faith, ‘Idol,’ more in new book
The advantages of owning your home
