A Midsummer Night's Dream at Atholton High School

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Permalink Reply by Diane Schramke on November 23, 2009 at 2:02pm

Come, merry wanderers of the night, to Athens, where mischief is in full swing! In Atholton High School’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it’s the sixties meets the 60s- the 1560s, that is! This adaptation of Shakespeare’s well known play seems to cast a magic charm from the get go, resulting in a play that will leave the audience in hysterical laughter all night.

The Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta, are bound to be married in four days, and the whole of Athens is preparing for the wedding. Yet there is trouble, as the beautiful Hermia, who is betrothed to Demetrius, has fallen in love with Lysander! So she and Lysander decide to run away, telling only Hermia’s close friend Helena- who happens to be in love with Demetrius. Meanwhile Oberon, king of the fairies, and Titania, his queen, are in the midst of a quarrel. So he sends his faithful servant Puck to fetch a flower, which creates a juice that instantly creates love when placed in someone’s eyes. From there, it is not difficult to guess where the plot leads, nor is it a far jump to madness!

In a show with so many storylines weaving back and forth, consistency can be a difficult thing to come by. So it was a relief to watch the four young lovers as they fell in and out of love, thanks to the mischievous Puck, marvelously played by Chikodili Agwuna. As the unfortunate ladies Hermia and Helena, Cecilia Grady and Erin Patterson brought spunk and daring to the otherwise sweet and charming characters. Meanwhile, the male counterparts of Lysander and Demetrius were played by Jonathon Osheroff and Brian Yawny, who were clever apart and even better when playing off one another.

It is impossible to overlook the third storyline mixed into the plot, concerning the group of well-meaning laborers who fancy themselves as a brilliant acting troupe. Encouraged by the fearless leader of the group Bottom (Jeremy Goldman), the six workers produce a play that is truly unforgettable, much like the performances of Brad Plaxon, Jack Angelo, Sam Kobren, Scott Jones, and Ricky Lasser were. Each player took on a new personality, and fed off of the group dynamic to create one total performance that left the audience begging for more through every scene.

Beyond the characters, the show took on a life of its own through the colorful set and costuming. The vivid tie-dyed costumes gave way to the fantasy realm of the play just as much as the ethereal woodland set did, full of surprises each scene as characters lounged on top of rock formations or poked their heads out through the trees, as the lights added another smooth element of mystique.

It is difficult to imagine a show more endowed with the absurd than A Midsummer Night’s Dream, yet Atholton embraced the absurdity with arms wide open. The result might have been something straight from the dreams of a mischievous fairy, just as it should be.

Permalink Reply by Hayley Bridget Fremuth on November 27, 2009 at 1:53pm

Faeries, donkeys, mischief, marriage, comedy, and multiple plotlines. What do all of these things have in common? You'll find all of them in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' written by William Shakespeare and performed by Atholton High School.

In a confusing knot of love, each of the four main characters (Lysander, Demetrius, Helena, and Hermia) fly to the woods each in search of something different: Helena and Lysander to be married, Demetrius to win Helena's, and Hermia to win Demetrius'. While in the wood, the fairy king sees discord among the four and decides to send Puck to make things right who, being mischievous by nature, conjures the confusion the play revolves around.

Even in a play with a small cast, the ensemble is needed to complete the illusion. In Atholton's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', the ensemble held their own, commanding just as much attention as the four leads and inciting just as much laughter.

Just as a play cannot stand without its ensemble to hold it up, the ensemble cannot stand without anything to hold. Cecilia Grady, Erin Nicole Patterson, Brian Yawney, and Jonathan Osheroff acted as a unit, none sticking out or bringing more attention to him/herself than the others. They played off each other well, and fabricated relationships that were difficult to imagine as feigned.

As is the way with every Shakespearean play, the main plotline is not the only plotline. The underlying plot, a play within a play, was the Pyramus and Thisbe crowd. Brad Plaxen, Jeremy Goldman, Jack Angelo, Sam Kobren, Scott Jones, and Ricky Lasser playing Quince, Bottom, Flute, Snout, Snug, and Starveling (respectively) all had in the audience in the palm of their hand whenever they were on stage, every “ooh” and “ahh” from the audience seeming to be a rehearsed cue for their next line.

And no play would be complete without it's technical support. This particular rendition being set in the sixties, costume designer Maureen Monk ran with the quirk and put the cast in bell-bottoms and tie-dye so far as the eye could see. The set was also detail-oriented, complete with a moving moon that reminded the audience of the concept of time, something forgotten amidst its flight.

In 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', there was never a dull moment on stage, and from the second the lights dimmed in the house to the second they lifted at the show's end, every audience member sat transfixed in his seat, waiting to be put under the spell of Atholton's cast.

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