Seen on: Friday, 7/25/25.
Plot and Background
Ensemble Shakespeare Company presents Shakespeare's comedy of love spells, forest sprites, and an amateur theater troupe.What I Knew Beforehand
I know Midsummer very well, having acted in it multiple times in various roles.Thoughts:
This was an absolute delight of a show. I'll admit to being worried: after many years of overexposure to this play, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see another production, but I'm so glad I did. Dylan Diehl (who also, aptly, plays Oberon) directs this production with a deft hand, guiding the cast through the intricate hoops of the overlapping hijinks in the forest as surely as her Oberon puppets both humans and his fairy queen alike to do his bidding. That phrasing makes it seem like I'm not giving the cast enough credit for their work, and I don't mean to: the consistently strong text work, as well as the synergy among all the players, makes it clear this is a united ensemble, joyously performing this fairy tale.
The visual landscape of the production, particularly that of Lauren Helpern's evocative scenic design and Kate Hartigan's stunning costume design, draws homage to Peter Brook's white box version of Athens, while not directly copying it. What becomes clear here is that the pristine white of Theseus's court allows for little joy and even less love. It is only when we venture into the forest that streams of fabric festoon the space with color and possibility, and Oberon and Puck clap powdered dye to the wandering Athenians, until they too are as multihued as their surroundings. Here in the forest they are free to indulge, to escape, to imagine. Here in the forest the "rude mechanicals" come to rehearse and here their rehearsal is dispelled by Puck's manipulations. Bottom, his face painted with enchantment and ass ears on his head becomes the paramour of Queen Titania (her own face painted with Oberon's enchantment). And here it is the complicated love quadrangle of Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena may finally sort itself out, with a little help from the unseen fairies watching them. And so when all return to Athens the next day, these bright colors are allowed to follow them, even influencing Duke Theseus himself to break with his pure white suit to add tapestried belt, tie, and pocket square, to better match his new bride and her hybrid wedding dress.
This design alone would tell a story, and the performances give it further nuance and depth. Swapping the genders of the four Athenian lovers (at first a seemingly arbitrary choice, though one ultimately bourn up by the delight of Caitlin Hutson's fight choreography in the lovers' big showdown) allows us to see both the strength and fragility of Matisse Ratron-Neal's Hermia (distinctly the tallest Hermia I've seen), the wry heartbreak and sensuality of Gerrard Lobo's Helena, as well as the mincing pretensions at chivalry on display by Katie Pelensky's Lysander and Susannah Hoffman's Demetrius. As the rulers of the forest, Dylan Deihl's passionate Oberon and Erin Roth's romantic Titania are evenly matched, buoyed by the spritely Ella Olesen as Puck and the delightfully narcissistic blowhard Bottom, as played to the hilt by Celeste Moratti.
This design alone would tell a story, and the performances give it further nuance and depth. Swapping the genders of the four Athenian lovers (at first a seemingly arbitrary choice, though one ultimately bourn up by the delight of Caitlin Hutson's fight choreography in the lovers' big showdown) allows us to see both the strength and fragility of Matisse Ratron-Neal's Hermia (distinctly the tallest Hermia I've seen), the wry heartbreak and sensuality of Gerrard Lobo's Helena, as well as the mincing pretensions at chivalry on display by Katie Pelensky's Lysander and Susannah Hoffman's Demetrius. As the rulers of the forest, Dylan Deihl's passionate Oberon and Erin Roth's romantic Titania are evenly matched, buoyed by the spritely Ella Olesen as Puck and the delightfully narcissistic blowhard Bottom, as played to the hilt by Celeste Moratti.
This play, when done right, is a bouquet of confections--the bittersweet romance of fairy royalty, the frothy chaos of the Athenian lovers, and the earthy joy of the rude mechanicals. This play, when done right, manages to balance all these elements while still cohering them into one integral play. This play was done right by Ensemble Shakespeare Company.
Running: Now playing at The Flea Theater (Ensemble Shakespeare Company) - Opening: July 17, 2025. Closing: July 27, 2025.
Category: play
Length: 2 hours, 40 minutes, including intermission.
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Dylan Diehl Associate Director: Chloe Champken
Designers: Lauren Helpern (Set), Kate Hartigan (Costume), Annie Garett-Larsen (Lighting), Caitlin Hutson (Fight Choreographer), Sophia Alaniz (Stage Manager), Olivia Battles Reap (Assistant Production Manager), Elisa Paglia (House Manager).
Cast: Jesse Cao Long, Chole Champken, Susannah Hoffman, Dennis Kear, Gerrard Lobo, Paul Marchegiani, Diego Millan, Celeste Moratti, Ella Olesen, Katie Pelensky, Joe Staton, Lawrence E. Street, Colleen Smith Wallnau, Dylan Diehl, Erin Roth.
***
Running: Now playing at The Flea Theater (Ensemble Shakespeare Company) - Opening: July 17, 2025. Closing: July 27, 2025.
Category: play
Length: 2 hours, 40 minutes, including intermission.
Creative Team
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Director: Dylan Diehl Associate Director: Chloe Champken
Designers: Lauren Helpern (Set), Kate Hartigan (Costume), Annie Garett-Larsen (Lighting), Caitlin Hutson (Fight Choreographer), Sophia Alaniz (Stage Manager), Olivia Battles Reap (Assistant Production Manager), Elisa Paglia (House Manager).
Cast: Jesse Cao Long, Chole Champken, Susannah Hoffman, Dennis Kear, Gerrard Lobo, Paul Marchegiani, Diego Millan, Celeste Moratti, Ella Olesen, Katie Pelensky, Joe Staton, Lawrence E. Street, Colleen Smith Wallnau, Dylan Diehl, Erin Roth.
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