It’s hard to know what’s real or a dream when enchanted in a world of fantasy fusion, where characters’ lives are lived in obsessive trances just to be returned to the “present,” seemingly unscathed, but never forgetting.
In the University of Rhode Island’s theatre production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the audience is immersed in this fantasy land, led through the forest of Puck’s trickery, and at the same time welcomed into a jazzy love square of characters. The adaptation, directed by Tracy Liz Miller, mixes William Shakespeare’s classic play with a charming depiction of the 1930s classic American jazz scene.
Puck, played by Chayla Valentine (a staple actress in the theatre department), shows the audience how to see the production’s world through a fairy’s eyes. Valentine’s cunning and comical portrayal of Puck combined perfectly with the character’s relationship to the fairy king Oberon, played by Brandon Tallardy, and added humorous and surprising twists to the plot as the two navigate their deceptions.
The set, complete with its multi-level staging and entrances, allowed the fairy folk to come to life with the use of billowing curtains and cloths, along with those draped on the actors themselves. Other character and set props were a bit few and far between, and could have been upscaled more. Nonetheless, the setting quickly brought the audience into this unique and befuddled world and made us feel alive in it.
The costumes themselves, being dream-like and consisting of frills and intertwined bedsheets, added to the feverish atmosphere of the story. To highlight this, the lighting team did a marvelous job at drawing the eyes of the audience where they wanted them, even when other characters were lurking just off in the shadows.
While the production could have incorporated more of the jazz music of the setting’s time period (being a jazz fan myself), the score that was there was enjoyable and complete with impressive choreography. A particular parody of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” set to lyrics relating to the fairy queen Titania, played by Princess Johnson, was a memorable moment.
The choreography was a highlight of the show, and both with and without music, the movements of every character were carefully crafted to bring the audience in closer — anywhere you looked on stage during a group scene was enticing. In a comedic scene where Helena (Mia Victorino) was being pursued by the transfixed Demetrius (Tatiana Sullivan) and Lysander (Max Hunter), every carefully sequenced move made by the actors in their dance-like tussle for affection proved hilarious.
The show wrapped up its final performance on Sunday, leaving behind its fairies and jazz-playing juke boxes for good. Even still, I find myself thinking back to that fever-dream midnight world, and how real it felt to me.
