View slideshow: University Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream
The University Theatre presented a very unusual rendition of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” this weekend. In this variation of the oft-played comedy, the story has been transported from ancient Athens to modern-day New York, and just as the show’s flyers warn, “this is not your momma’s Shakespeare.”
In the first place, things have gotten a bit less clothed. The costumes during the scenes in the penthouse of Theseus, played by Curry Whitmire, are fresh and business styled. The attire in the Manhattan nightclub “The Woods,” is far from business-appropriate, though. Things have gone beyond club gear and into the closets of Snoop Dogg’s backup dancers. Fortunately for the audience, the actors pull it off.
Beyond the costuming, the sets are far different than those in a traditional performance of “Dream.” Instead of a literal woods, The Woods is every bit the raving nightclub. Colored and strobe lights accent the dual-level club, its wild staircase and even wilder revelers.
The amount of technical direction that must have gone into the show is clear. All kinds of clever sets were rigged so that scenes could move smoothly from penthouse to “The Woods.” Watching the lighting and music directions, the subtle and sudden changes, was fascinating.
The original script by Shakespeare provides plenty of opportunity for great comic performance by the actors, and they delivered. One of the best parts is a humorous cat-and-mouse exchange by Jillian Robertson’s Hermia and Jonathan Hooks-Abadom’s Lysander, as Robertson tries all manner of antics to avoid Hooks-Abadom’s advances until they are properly wed.
While Laura Stephenson’s Queen Titania was certainly formidable – and anyone should be commended for playing Shakespeare so well in a shimmering brazier – Ryan Wood’s portrayal of Nick Bottom was the queen that stole the show. Whether he was donkey or comically over-playing actor in the Interlude, Wood guaranteed laughs whenever he made an appreance.
Another show stealer was a platinum blonde Puck, as played by the usually-brunette Ryan Edward Claxton. Not only did he embody the trickster that Shakespeare intended the character to be, Claxton embraced the quintessential club limelighter with every ab on his body.
While so many of the performances were great, this reviewer is still undecided about the choice to rap some of the great lines of Willy Shakes, as the program calls him. While the bard did have a fantastic ear for poetic meter, it did not always transfer into great beats. Most of the time, the result was merely awkward rapping.
Overall, the show was entertaining and the modern twist was definitely interesting for the college audience. Even with the recognition that Willy Shakes was a dirty old man, though, certain parts of the show went a little too far. No Shakespearean actor needs to be onstage in a turquoise thong and mesh.
Still, if you’re looking for a romp into some not-so-clean fun, OU’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the place to be this weekend. Shows start at 8 p.m. Thursday throughSaturday and 3p.m. Sunday.
Just don’t take your grandma, unless she’s Dr. Ruth.
-Sarah Dorn is an English junior.
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jennifers241 3 years ago
I have to STRONGLY disagree with the idea that the rapping was "merely awkward." I believe it added a lot of energy and innovation to the show. I saw it twice and both times the crowds were very receptive of the rapping and of those performing it. The show was incredible. Entertaining from start to finish.