Wyly Opens With a Juvenile Dream
From the musical interludes, to the nerf gun fight, to the bizarre hipster clothing of the characters, made to look like boppy Breakfast Club kids of the Noughties, the Dallas Theater Center’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an exercise in the infantile.
Photo by Bran
You’d think with something as lyrical, magical, and fantastic as Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream that you’d be seeing something beautiful. But that’s not the case with Kevin Moriarty’s direction of the play at Dallas Theater Center’s season opener at the Wyly. The production runs circles around itself until it’s exhausting to watch.
From the musical interludes that oddly pepper the whole of the production, to the bizarre hipster clothing of the characters, made to look like boppy Breakfast Club kids of the Noughties, to the nerf gun fight that literally cascades over the crowd with bubbles, water, and balls, the whole production is an exercise in juvenilia. To have Keith Haring posters unfurl towards the end, one great red heart the focal point of the stage, reiterates the infantile nature of this production. Spell-binding illusion is the nature of the play, but overweening spectacle dominates here.
As for the lovers upon whom much of the play twists, Abbey Siegworth as the forlorn Helena is the most eloquent in terms of her scorned endearment. Chamblee Ferguson (Bottom) and Peter Quince (Joe Nemmers) and Co. perform with much ado. After the long haul of the Wyly’s construction, Quince’s troupe is aptly suited up in hardhats and orange vests. Their childish pranks and vulgar jokes are riotously funny, and the hints of Evil Dead 2 are a marvelous addition. Marcus M. Maudlin as Francis Flute makes a fetching and beguiling Thisbe, and the antics onstage during Pyramus and Thisbe’s parting play are hilariously bawdy.
Other than the staginess of that act, which is necessary, there is no need for the contortions and distortions of the play as a whole. Puck, played by Cedric Neal, gyrates and twists in numerous ways, all playing Neal’s lithe body to great effect. Such a seduction of the audience rings false. It’s more geared towards Neal’s own physical and vocal attributes than to Puck’s inherent charms and spells.
My main problem with this production is that it wants to set Midsummer in a 21st century context, but it never makes its setting explicit. Is Shakespeare’s original setting not sufficient to relay magic? Do we really need acrobatics, nerf-ball fights, and bubbles? Apparently playing with crayons and chalk is more interesting than getting lost in forests.
And then there was the ending on opening night—one great musical love-fest with a stage wall lifting up and a party floor being opened to everyone. I get that it’s a celebration and everybody’s happy to be in the Wyly, but what an oblique way of avoiding the ceremony of an opening night’s ovation (or lack thereof). We were treated to the cast singing —and mind you, they sing well—various innocuous love numbers with balloons streaming down and ginger ale being passed out. Another jejune touch. When Bottom’s world becomes the overarching one, there’s more braying than beauty on show.
As I understand it, this party ending is not just an opening night stunt, but part of the production (it certainly was in the previews). I thought the very idea of extending the joyful wedding ceremony in the play to a real party for audience and cast alike was charming and provided a sense of joy and departure to all patrons of previews, premiere and later performances. It may not have been the greatest Shakespeare production ever, but it certainly was unique. To me, that performance had everything the Otello opening night with its lifeless audience (and unwanted speeches) across the street lacked so much: festivity, joy, commitment, and a lot to look forward for younger and older audiences.
4 November 2009 at 4:32 pm