Spring Arts Review: Theatre The Best Dream I've Ever Seen BAM presents The Watermill Theatre's triumphal all-male version of A Midsummer's Night Dream Oh, what a gimmick these Brits do have! Directed by Edward Hall, this UK import of Shakespeare's most beloved comedy is a fantastically inspired work of genius. Playing at BAM through March 28th, any Shakespeare lover should hightail it over to Brooklyn as fast as they can. The aforementioned gimmick is that this version of the play is played, just as it was in Shakespeare's time, exclusively by men. Michael Pavelka's designs do little to try to hide this fact, dressing the ladies in dresses, but leaving the actors stubble firmly on their cheeks. It is the all male twist that brings out the enduring heart of this play. The tale of mismatched lovers crossing in the fairy woods is, in the hands of these actors- funny. I'm talking Curb Your Enthusiasm funny. With all the characters played by men, the femineness of the male lead roles, Lysander and Demetrius become all the more apparent. The Fairy Queen and her King take on greater stature when we are constantly aware of their artifice and Puck, well, Puck becomes a tutu-wearing Loki God. The concept's great, but it is the actors here who are the real heart of this brilliant staging. Jonathan McGuinness's Helena takes what is usually considered a rather undistinguished character and brings her into hilarious three dimensionality. When the two men who previously had no interest in her fall in love with her under the fairy spell, her response is not demure bashfulness- it's outright indignation. As they heap on talk of love that she can only perceive as joking taunts, she screams and slaps the young men. Simon Scarfield, as Puck is really one of those actors who is just fantastic to watch. His timing is impeccable and even in the background, he becomes a mischievous presence- the very spirit of potential mayhem waiting to be unleashed. The greatest moment of the play, however, is usually the part that director's first cut. The Mechanicals production of the "lamentable comedy of Pyrimus and Thesbe" is usually, kind of a snoozer, but with Tony Bell's Bottom at the lead, the play within in a play becomes an uproarious bit of sketch comedy come to life, constantly topping laugh for laugh, stunt for stunt- it's as if Monty Python's Flying Circus had taken up residence in the Bard of Avon's head. This production has actually expanded my idea of what Shakespeare was capable of. It's one thing to see the best production of a play you've ever seen, it's another to see a play which expands your idea of what going to a play can be. A Midsummer's Night Dream is playing through March 28th at Bam's Harvey Theatre. Tickets are $25,40,60 and available at the box office or online at www.bam.org or by phone at 718/636.4100

posted by Japhy at 3/22/2004 12:54:00 PM || #