Midsummer Night's Dream impresses without set
Captured in the vision of the bard, this classical comedy captivates and thrills. Directed by Christina Keefe, the director of the Rice Theatre Program, this production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to life in a masterful way. No details were overlooked in the cast's convincing and engaging acting choices. Set in an Elizabethan-esque Athens, the play follows four lovers and their misadventures into the woods as they flee from parental nuptial pressures. The young, beautiful Hermia (Duncan College freshman Yena Han) and her two suitors, Lysander (Wiess College senior Ian L. Bott) and Demetrius (Lovett College sophomore Jake Hassell), wander into the mysterious fairy kingdom followed by Helena (Baker College sophomore Katherine Gunn), who is filled with unrequited love for Demetrius. The fairies are not without their own romantic issues; King Oberon (Hanszen College senior Michael Hollis) and his wife Queen Titania (Jones College senior Susannah M. Eig) are in the middle of a quarrel leading to a delightful amount of mischief, mostly at the hands of the sprightly Puck (McMurtry College senior Daniel Burns).Unfortunately, Monday night's preview had to be moved into Hamman Hall from its intended location at Founder's Court due to inclement weather. Despite viewing the show without its charming outdoor set, I felt no lack of rapture at the actors' performance. Shakespeare can be a tough nut for modern actors to pull off - especially in a way that can avoid the tendency to speak the versed lines in a singsong manner. However, for the most part, the line delivery is natural and emotionally charged. Eig and Hollis are excellent as the fairy royal couple, with Eig portraying a delightfully impassioned Titania and Hollis a refined, yet cunning, Oberon. With many an expertly executed cartwheel across the stage, Burns deserves special note for his graceful acrobatics in the role of the charmingly impish Puck. Of the four lovers, Hassell and Han show the greatest expressions of emotion and the greatest character development in terms of physical and emotional acting as the play progresses. Han displays especially good physical expressions of emotion, while Gunn excels in facial expressions of emotion. A few particularly delightful scenes include the fairy lullaby and basically any scene with the mechanicals, but the most notable is the performance of the play within the play. The fairy lullaby is a beautiful original composition for this production of Dream. The music's ethereal dissonance gives it a magical flavor. Wiess College freshman Ariana Morgan enchants with her angelic voice as the first fairy. Her beautiful soprano carries the melody and blends with the haunting harmonies. Only a few things detract from the magic of this moment: Occasionally, though intentionally dissonant, the harmonies are a bit off, especially in the a capella ending notes. The dance routine also seems a bit too minimalistic at times, but this may be a result of performing without the intended outdoor set.The mechanicals are as charmingly hilarious as the fairies. Led by the fantastic Carter Spires (Jones '13) as Bottom, the mechanicals put on a brilliant show. Each of the five other mechanicals (or players) execute excellent comedic timing and are skilled physical actors. Spires steals the show, however, in his expert line delivery, in his fantastic facial and physical acting choices, and in his bottomless energy - his is a truly great performance.Even without the aid of the elaborate set, this show well exceeded my expectations. The attention to detail paid by the cast and crew make it a joy to behold. The costumes capture the Elizabethan and Athenian crossover wonderfully and reflect the nature of many of the characters in creative ways. Each member of Titania's fairy gang each has a costume that in some way captures the character of his or her name. The costume piece of Bottom's transformation, while clearly indicative of the transformation, does not obscure Spires' facial expressions. Puck looks harmlessly mischievous in his tousled hair, horns and ragged clothes. Makeup is also expertly done, with the members of the fairy kingdom sporting magical colors and sparkles. At the time of writing, the forecast calls for thunderstorms on opening night this Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m., but clear skies are expected for the rest of the show's run. With such a wonderful experience of the show in its simple, barren state, I cannot wait to view it again and see how the magic will escalate with the addition of the naturalistic set and lights. Whether experienced indoors or out, this production is certainly a masterpiece.