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Play review: PSU comedy is a dream come true

BY HARRY ZIMBLER
For the Centre Daily Times

11/17/2002—What fools we humans can be when love is involved. But is it really our fault?

Maybe there are forces beyond our control manipulating the events of our coupling.

Who really knows? We might as well have some fun with the whole notion, which is precisely what William Shakespeare decided to do in crafting his playful comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

A respectable production of the play opened Friday night at the Pavilion Theatre, a presentation by the Penn State School of Theatre.

A Midsummer Night's Dream begins with the approaching wedding of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Though politically expedient, the marriage could become something more, the Duke tells his soon-to-be bride. Then, the fun begins when Hermia, a young Athenian woman defies her father and decides to run off with the man she really loves—Lysander—and not marry Demetrius, the man daddy has chosen for her. Helena, another young lady loves Demetrius and pursues him.

When the four young lovers run off into the woods, the magic begins. The King and Queen of the fairies, who inhabit the mystical woods, are having their own problems. It seems King Oberon is jealous of his wife Titania's attention to a young boy and angry with her. He decides to make trouble for her in the woods and orders his No. 1 fairy, Puck, to attend to the business. There, in the woods, a band of blue-collar fellows, men who have never before performed as actors, are rehearsing a tragedy they hope to perform as a gift to the Duke on his wedding.

Needless to say, a lot of confusion and silliness are required to work out all the details of a most happy ending. All the lovers are wedded and bedded, as they surely wanted to be.

What is so wonderful about this play is that it appeals to all audiences on all levels. In my case, it had something to say to me, my wife, my 12-year-old son and my 5-year-old nephew, who remained brightly awake for the entire show.

The last time the Penn State School of Theatre did this play—in the mid-1990s—the production was so well acted, so simply designed, so magical that it begs comparison to the new version.

The current production has far more spectacle, including puppets, colorful costumes, mimes, modern set pieces and lighting effects. The earlier production, however, had better performances and, for that reason, I think it was more successful, more magical.

Director Bonnie Leigh Mill has done a decent job with the play. The staging is generally very good, and the production does have many entertaining moments.

That said, one gets the sense that at some point in the production process, she lost control of her vision. As a result, the production ends up with a bit too much "stuff" that doesn't fit together particularly well. The younger actors appeared to need a little more work on character development and the use of Shakespeare's language.

Still, this is a production worth seeing. Mark and Carla Olsen, who doubled as the Duke and Oberon, and Hippolyta and Titania, respectively, turned in solid performances.

The award for the most powerful stage presence of the evening goes to Wilson Hutton as Egeus, the angry father. Though it is not one of the largest roles in the play, Hutton's flair was undeniable and memorable.

Juliet Hicks brought Puck, normally played by a younger boy or a girl pretending to be a younger boy, to life. At first, I confess, I thought it was a poor choice. I'm still not sure it was the best way to interpret the role, yet it was compelling and impossible to ignore. Casting Puck as a very sexy tease, who really enjoys being a very sexy tease, is an interesting way to go, if not exactly standard fare. Hicks had a solid handle over this new interpretation.

The rude mechanicals, the men rehearsing the play, and then performing it for the Duke's wedding, are all very good. Alex Robertson was a very strong Nick Bottom. The final scene, the actual performance of the play, was hilarious, the highlight of the evening.

Some of the visual elements were great fun, especially the fairy puppets. The set, on the other hand, was quite unattractive and not the least bit magical.

Two platforms and a futuristic tunnel made with nylon fabric did not add to our understanding of the play. I expected Austin Powers to come dashing out from the middle of it.

Most of the costumes were beautiful and well constructed, though, once again, less would have been more. The Athenian garments did not really seem to be in the same production as some of the other characters.