‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Review: A Love Letter to Shakespeare in the Park
I’d say my years of Shakespeare camp finally paid off, but you don't need any Shakespeare knowledge to love this production.
Singing Miley Cyrus’ “I Can’t Be Tamed” for a production of “The Taming of the Shrew.” Getting to stage an all-out bar fight for “Much Ado About Nothing.” Every cast member reciting one line of the “To be, or not to be” speech of Hamlet. Creating a bro-like handshake between Duke Orsino and Viola in “Twelfth Night.”
These are the memories of my Shakespeare camp in the park of my hometown, some of the fondest moments of my childhood summers. Each year, I joined a group of children, some as young as eight years old, to learn and perform a Shakespeare show. Everybody got a line; everybody got a part; everybody understood what the heck was going on.
My fellow campers and I would show up on the first day of camp daunted by words that seemed archaic, old, and incomprehensible. By the final bows, we hadn’t just memorized our parts, but had infused our humor, our silly jokes and ideas, and ourselves into the show. I love Shakespeare because I was lucky to have a director not just teach his work to me, but let me make it my own.
Making Shakespeare joyous and accessible is exactly the magic the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” brings to Marcus Garvey Park. Not only does the company reimagine the show in a lively, exciting Harlem Renaissance, but it invites the community in on the fun.
Mykal Kilgore, who plays both Philostrate and Puck, sets the scene with dazzling vocals and an upbeat attitude. We know we’re in for some entertainment, and when the curtain gets pulled back, the eruption on stage confirms it. 1920s-dressed dancers (costumes by Mika Eubanks) flounce across the stage to jazzy songs from Duke Ellington and the Gershwins with a set (Christopher and Justin Swader) that resembles a glitzy and glam nightclub.
We’re quickly introduced to the show’s main characters, the four lovers: Hermia (Ra’Mya Aikens), her lover Lysander (Hiram Delgado), the man she’s supposed to marry, Demetrius (Brandon Carter), and her friend Helena (Noah Michal), who is painfully in love with Demetrius.
If it sounds confusing, it’s because Shakespeare’s made the course of love unsmooth, and the journey to the happy ending a bit windy and whimsical. Yet in this production, we’re never confused about who loves who, why someone’s fleeing to the forest, or what’s going on with the silly tricks the forest fairies play. Instead, the actors aren’t afraid to make Shakespeare’s meaning only clearly known. They let us in on all of the jokes.
The production (mostly) relies on the original text — there are a few ad-lib moments that got laughs, like Puck yelling to the mortal lovers, “You think you just fell out of the coconut tree?” — yet actors use contemporary cadences and physicality to bring the show into the 21st century.
You don’t need a Wikipedia summary to know that Helena is quite unfortunately obsessed with Demetrius; Helena clings to him, then drops to all fours in a dog position as she cries, “I am your spaniel.” She then taunts him playfully, even sexually as she continues, “Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me, Neglect me, lose me,” punctuating each verb with a wink.
The same hilarious physicality stirs up the lovers’ spats, when both Lysander and Demetrius are put under Puck’s spell to love Helena. The two men fight like frustrated toddlers over a toy, both running themselves silly across the stage and shifting their registers to be more outrageous and bodacious in attempts to woo her. When Hermia finds out that Lysander has betrayed her love and turns on Helena, she begins taking out her earrings to prepare to fight.
The secondary plot, where a group of “rude mechanicals” who are preparing to put on a play for the Duke, gets just as many laughs. Allen Gilmore masterfully transforms from Hermia’s uptight father, Aegeus, to the misguided leader of the pack, Peter Quince. Each member of the troupe is so sweetly nervous and unsure of their role, save for Bottom (a joyful Jaylen D. Eashmond), whose arrogance is quite literally turned on its head when Puck transforms him into an ass. Eashmond adds donkey noises and braggadocious flirtation in his few scenes with Queen Titania (Jesmille Darbouze), who looks stunning in sparkling outfits, but doesn’t get enough stage time.
The focus on making each and every line not just understandable, but funny and potent, keeps the show’s pacing quick and the audience alert and alive. During the scene transitions, ensemble members seamlessly transform the stage back and forth from the nightclub of Athens to the forest, showing off more upbeat 1920s moves in the interludes. There’s never a down moment; you’re either laughing at an actor’s dramatic reading or reaction, or tapping your feet between the action.
So successfully has “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” brought Shakespeare into the Harlem Renaissance and beyond into 2024. This production invites its community to laugh, gasp, ooh, ahh, and enjoy an old play made not just new, but even more magical.
Thank you for reading — as I hope you can tell, I really enjoyed this show and the entire theatergoing experience. If you have time this weekend, I hope you can too. This production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” runs through Sunday, July 28th.
How I found out about it: In my early days as a member of Theater Development Fund, I found cheap tickets to a production of “Twelfth Night,” my favorite Shakespeare show. Little did I know that show would have future Tony winner Kara Young! That was one of the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s non-Shakespeare in the park shows, which introduced me to the company. Last year, Emily, Naomi, and I saw most of the company’s Shakespeare in the Park production, “Malvolio,” which was delightful — even when we had to run through thunder, lightning, and a downpour to get home.
Why I went: I had such a good experience at “Twelfth Night” and “Malvolio,” and Shakespeare in the Park as a concept has such a place in my heart.
How I got tickets: Spoiler alert — you don’t really need them! This show is absolutely free. You can reserve tickets on Eventbrite to get a spot, but they weren’t checking when I walked in. This is another reason why this show feels so community-centered. Anyone can come and watch for no cost, without any lottery or waiting in line.
While The Public Theater did just announce an insane cast for next year’s production of “Twelfth Night,” the Central Park space is still under renovations this year. So as Producing Artistic Director, Ty Jones, reminded my audience — the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s production is your last chance for free Shakespeare in the Park this summer!
And since you’ve made it here, here’s a curtain call taste of the fun.