A 'Midsummer' Hit in Murphys

By Grace and Frank Muirhead
Union Democrat
Published July 1, 2004 

Frank: For the sake of readers who don't feel like studying this entire review, let's get one thing out of the way at the start: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" rates four thumbs up!"

Grace: No argument there.  Unlike "Two Gentlemen of Verona," "Dream" is a work created by Shakespeare at the peak of his powers.

Frank: And Artistic Director Graham Scott Green's production at Stevenot Winery proves itself to be about the most effective and hilarious version of this enduring comedy that I've ever seen.

Grace: From their reaction, I'd say the good-sized opening night crowd at the amphitheatre would support our opinion, especially the young people.

Frank: I worried that this presentation of "Dream" wouldn't live up to the very first Murphys Creek Theatre production of the play in the '90s.  Did it?

Grace: Most assuredly so.  In fact, I liked it better.

Frank: The ruined antebellum mansion set of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" was modified with flower, psychedelic posters and peace signs, as befits the '60s period of the production.

Grace: The posters, far out colors, and those of the costumes, support the idea that dreams are in Technicolor.

Frank: Especially Helena's yellow hot pants.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Grace: How about the music? My favorite was Bottom's verse to the tune of "Blowin' in the Wind." Who says Shakespeare's not contemporary?

Frank: If you're old enough to consider the '60s contemporary.

Grace: Well, the teenagers in the audience seemed to appreciate the nostalgia.

Frank: The plot contains many of the elements Shakespeare used in his comedies.  The gist is that Theseus, the Duke of Milan, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, plan to marry at the next full moon.  Meanwhile, one of the local bigwigs, Egeus, wants to fore his daughter, Hermia, to marry Demetrius.  An old Athenian law stipulates that a daughter must marry the man of her father's choice or face the penalty of death, or worse - confinement in a convent.  But Hermia loves Lysander, and Hermia's friend Helena loves Demetrius.  So begins the mix-up.

Grace: Thrown into the mix is a gang of scruffy workmen who want ot put on a play to entertain Theseus and Hippolyta.

Frank: Then we meet Oberon, King of the fairies, and his queen, Titania, who are having a spat.  They appear onstage with a complement of fairies: Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed (all played by Bret Harte students), and Oberon's hobgoblin, Puck.

Grace: Puck is instructed to find a certain flower whose juice, when dropped in a sleeper's eyes, causes the sleeper to fall in love with the first creature seen upon waking.

Frank: Mind-boggling confusion ensues, but eventually everything gets sorted out and everyone lives happily ever after.

Grace: As might be expected, several actors played dual roles.  Gary Scheiding was imposing as Theseus and Oberon, regally in charge in both characterizations, and Tara Kayton was appropriately queenly in her roles as Hippolyta and Titania.  Kristen Mager (Helena) and Misty Day (Hermia) demonstrated ample comic talent, as did Jeremy Forbing (Lysander) and Todd Thomas (Demetrius).

Frank: Let's not neglect the other dual roles.  Mike Clarke played both Egeus and the leader of the simple artisans, Peter Quince.  As the staggeringly stoned Snug and Lion was Anthony DePage.  Francis Flute and the remarkably enhanced Thisbe was Grover Anderson.  Tom Snout and the Wall was Mark Leyva.

Grace: Nick Bottom (Eric Owens) and Robin Starveling (Stephen Daly) played the parts, respectively, of Pyramus and Moonshine in Quince's play.  They fully satisfied my hunger for slapstick at its silliest and most precise.

Frank: Yet another dual role, Puck and Philostrate, was played by Terry Richardson.  When Philostrate blew her whistle, I immediately thought of the grandmother in the whimsical movie, "The Triplets of Belleville."

Grace: All the actors were at home with the updated physical comedy and gestures , not to mention the bawdiness that we are told prevailed in Shakespeare's day.  Helena as Valley Girl and stalker was a big hit.  And Lysander's use of gestures as "asides" was another excellent comedic bit, as was Egeus's absent-mindedness.  I could ramble on for pages.  Luckily, space doesn't allow.

Frank: I particularly appreciated Eric Owen's Bottom, who demonstrated physical and verbal comedy to the hilt.  Deciding the best performance among all these good ones is not easy, but, in my book, Bottom wins that honor by a nose.

Grace:  Another donkey joke? 

Frank: Hee haw!  This is a must-see show, a work of the bard at his comedic best, presented by a troupe of uniformly accomplished players.  So drop everything, buy tickets, go up to Stevenot and see local theater at its best.

Forest Meadows residents Grace and Frank Muirhead are long-time members of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.  Grace is a member of Murphys Writers. Frank is a self-described "rabid Shakespeare fan and language curmudgeon.