![\"Shakespeare](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/web-Midsummer13_print.jpg\")
<\/a>That is, unless one also counts Titania the fairy queen, her vengeful consort Oberon, and Oberon\u2019s quicksilver factotum named Puck, who all seem to straddle two worlds \u2013 human and fairy \u2013 in guest director Ian Talbot\u2019s production of \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d by William Shakespeare.<\/p>\n
In fact, the production seems to indicate that Puck could be the unseen Changeling Boy about whom Oberon and Titania are at loggerheads; and furthermore, that Oberon\u2019s herbal magic, which causes Titania to love an ass, may have taken place eons ago and has been repeating over the course of millennia.<\/p>\n
Just as Puck (played by Lucas Hall) declares, \u201cWhat fools these mortals be,\u201d one realizes the mortals are indeed foolish. Their enchantment \u2013 or intoxication, as provided by a purple flower \u2013 causes the comedy. They are the adorable Hermia (Winslow Corbett), who is in love with Lysander (Adam Gerber). Hermia\u2019s father Egeus (Sherman Howard) would have her wed Demetrius (Nic Few), who is beloved by the bookish Helena (Ryman Sneed).<\/p>\n
Hermia and Lysander run away into the forest, followed by Demetrius, pursued by Helena. Enchanted by magic (drugged) the kids become terribly mixed up. The young actors are appealing, able and fun to watch, especially when Talbot uses the real forest for some unexpected and inventive mayhem that elicits scream of laughter. He\u2019s been directing outdoor Shakespeare productions in Great Britain for years, so it\u2019s no wonder he\u2019s got a bag full of tricks.<\/p>\n The rest of the company is wondrous, beginning with Jay Whittaker, who plays both Theseus, the ruler of Athens, and Oberon, who rules the fairy realm. For Theseus, Whittaker affects an anal-retentive persona and a high, whiney voice that drives his fianc\u00e9e, Hippolyta (Krystel Lucas, who also plays Titania), to flee in the opposite direction. Whittaker is the most physical and overtly sexy Oberon ever seen. In cahoots with Hall\u2019s horn-dog Puck, they are quite a pair.<\/p>\n Miles Anderson, remembered as Salieri in last season\u2019s \u201cAmadeus,\u201d plays Bottom the Weaver, who is transformed into an ass and whose bubble bath is a delight. Bottom is one of six working-class commoners that enact \u201cPyramus and Thisbe,\u201d a crudely written tragedy by Peter Quince (Charles Janasz). It is performed to celebrate the nuptials of Theseus and Hippolyta and the now sorted out young people.<\/p>\n Whatever critters the fascinating fairies may be and however foolish the mortals are, Talbot serves up one of the sexiest, most fascinating, most musical and magical productions of \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d ever witnessed in long experience of the play. Bound to be a huge hit with audiences, the work bears repeat visits ere it vanishes into thin air Sept. 29.<\/p>\n The first of the three Old Globe Shakespeare Festival productions to open in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d continues in rotating repertory with \u201cThe Merchant of Venice\u201d and Tom Stoppard\u2019s \u201cRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.\u201d Many in the repertory company play in all three works.<\/p>\n<\/a>