MAGNA — I will be the first to admit that I’m not typically drawn to Shakespeare productions, however when I saw that the Empress Theatre was reimagining A Midsummer Night’s Dream set in 1930s Appalachia, my curiosity was piqued.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare, is the story of two lovers, Hermia and Lysander, who run away together to avoid Hermia marrying Demetrius. Helena, who loves Demetrius, rats out Hermia to Demetrius and they set off to catch the two lovers. Once the fairies get involved the tangled love triangle gets even messier.
For this production director Dallyn Steenerson chose to set the show in the 1930s Appalachia. This seemed to be a perfect modernized setting to me as it’s a place and time of folklore, superstitions, and the perfect place for folks to get lost in the hills. The company also chose to use original compositions from some of the cast members, along with dance elements. The opening dance—choreography by Stormy Hintz—was a great tactic for establishing the energy of the show. It warmed up the audience and helped create relationships between characters before a single word was uttered. I’d happily watch that opening song and dance again. One dancing couple stood out from the start and that was Kami McDonough, playing Hermia, and Tanner Larsen, playing Lysander.
McDonough played Hermia with a lively energy that balanced well with Larsen’s Lysander. There was a natural ease to their relationship that contrasted nicely to the comical spell cast relationships between Lysander, Demetrius (played by Braxton Moore), and Helena (played by Jezory Munoz). There were many delightful scenes, but my favorite was Act 3, scene 2 when Lysander and Demetrius are in love with Helena, and Hermia flies off the handle. Moore’s waking up and seeing Munoz was melodramatic in the best ways and had me laughing, but as funny as Moore’s speech was it was made even more hilarious by Munoz’s reenactment of the speech later in the scene. I had not expected the level of commitment Munoz gave in impersonating Moore. The quartet of actors did so well with hand gestures and facial expressions in that scene that even without the lines I would have known exactly what was going on and still highly enjoyed the scene. McDonough definitely lived up to the famous “she is fierce” line. Her confusion to Lysander’s sudden change in affection was mingled with hurt, rejection, and anger.
It seems that every production I have seen of A Midsummer Night’s Dream puts a heavy focus on Puck. This production didn’t neglect Puck, played by Koda Smith, but it also had more of Oberon, played by Torin Scoffield. I really enjoyed the camaraderie between Scoffield and Smith, especially as they watched the results of their mischief unfold. Scoffield had a lot to offer in the background of scenes without needlessly drawing away the focus of the scene.
One distraction for me was Zarek Hutchings’s impish portrayal of Cobweb, as it often pulled away attention from the others. I was trying to decide if the jerky and miserly movements were an attempt at being spiderlike, as a nod to the name of Cobweb, but it just felt incongruent with the graceful movements of the other fairies. Another moment I found Hutchings’ movements distracting was during the couples dance in the final act. Tatiana, played by Stacey Hutchings, was making mystical arm movements as if she was adding magic to the couples dancing. Zarek Hutchings was also doing hand gestures during this scene. It would have made sense if only Tatiana was doing the motions or if all of the fairies were doings the motions. Just having one attending fairy doing this with the fairy queen felt inconsistent.
Bottom, played by Biz Sharp, was a riot and fully committed to the role. I loved Sharp’s confidence that Bottom could play both Pyramus and Thisbe at the same time. The switching between roles reminded me of a stereotype of a silent film heroine and hero which was perfect with the 1930’s reimagining of this production. Sharp was amazing at the physical comedy of the role of Bottom, particularly during Pyramus’ death scene. Sharp is my favorite portrayal of Bottom to date, but as much as I loved Sharp’s pretending to be Thisbe, I am so glad Colby Nash played Francis Flute as Thisbe. It was a scream to to see burly and bearded Nash in wig and apron continually trying to make his voice higher, a giant next to Sharp’s smaller frame. The entire troupe was chaotically fun as they performed for the duke.
The standout costume, by Nash Kenning- Ballesteros, piece for this show was definitely Bottom’s ass head. I loved how the mask was open on the sides, making it easy to enjoy Sharp’s wonderful facial expressions. I also love the patchwork of materials on the mask that helped stay in the 1930’s Appalachian motif. I enjoyed the choice of fairies having horns and moss rather than wings and glitter. The little bits of moss scattered throughout the set and props, designs by Kali Anderson, helped pull everything together. I also loved the use of the raised platform to help vignette Tatiana’s scenes while allowing her and the other fair folk to observe the mortal affairs below.
Although Shakespeare isn’t always my preferred flavor of theatre, I very much enjoyed this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The setting of 1930’s Appalachia was a fun reimaging, while still keeping to the original script. The use of original music and movement were a great way to tie the classical with the contemporary. I truly enjoyed my night out and the break from reality. I’d recommend this production to both lovers of Shakespeare and those more skeptical of Shakespeare. You don’t need to be a great scholar of Shakespeare to enjoy the Empress Theatre’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and it is well worth checking out.
MORE INFO: A Midsummer’s Night Dream plays Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30pm at the Empress Theatre (9104 West Main St, Magna), with a special Dolly Parton Tribute Night on Sept. 4th. Tickets are $20. For the most up-to-date schedule, performance details, and official ticketing, visit the Empress Theater website: https://www.empresstheatre.com/.
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