photo credit: Tony Sanchez

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is playing now at the Larking House, September 27 – October 6, 2024.  

The Larking House on the Fyda-Mar Stage at the Chance Theater presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays. I don’t think acid existed back then, but this play operates like maybe it did. This production provides a lot of the whimsy and fun you’d expect from this comedy and even more improv from this adventurous cast.  

Story:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is full of melodrama, with multiple storylines simultaneously unfolding in a magical fairy world and also Athens, as there are many characters in this from Greek Mythology. Puck (Jarid McCarthy), a fairy, plays magical tricks on several people, causing much confusion and controversy as things unfold in a comical fashion.

They really lean into the troupe of actors, which is part of the play. They even have the actors perform comedic improv before the show begins, which they excel at. So that was an excellent choice.

Direction:

Director Lizzy McCabe kept the production lively and things moving, as you must, with so many characters and moving parts. Many people play multiple characters. This could confuse first-time watchers, but the costume design from Kate Galleran, in combination with the acting, handles most of these issues.

The play was handled quite well in the space under the circumstances. A show like this, with such a large cast and so much going on in a bigger space, would have benefited the production as they did appear quite squished at times.

Set Design/Costume :

The set is bookended by two paper-mache trees. A pitch-black wall with a golden moon illustration next to a drawing of a sun. And a lifted wooden step covered in green moss. The rest was accented with colored lighting from Matthew M. Hayashi. While the set design felt slightly too minimal for such a colorful story, the fun array of costumes from Kate Galleran more than made up for it. From gorgeous golden headpieces to the toadstool hats and knitted vests, Gallerans, costumes really made a mark in this production.

Holy Pixies, Larking house Jarid Mccarthy is a delight as the magical trickster Puck. They were flying into a scene with a beautifully constructed giant dandelion from Prop Designer Sidney Aptaker.  

The lighting transitions to show Puck’s magical effect on his environment were highly effective and communicated that critical aspect of the story well.   

Acting:

As is typical with Shakespeare, speaking in an older tongue can be challenging and makes acting mistakes even more noticeable. Though, these are few and far between in this showing.

Genevieve Kauper, who plays Helena, has such a talent for taking dialogue and making it her own. This character is no exception, as she hangs onto the leg of the man she pines for while barking in one scene.

Fresh off their impressive performance in Fullerton’s award-winning production of Romeo and Juliet. L Castro delivers a dynamic and convincing performance as Hermia that’s not to be missed.  

This is a show well worth visiting and not only in your dreams.

Review

8.1 Overall

0 Users (0 votes)

Story8.3

Acting7.8

Set & Design7.5

Costumes8.7

Entertainment8

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• Story
• Acting
• Set & Design
• Costumes
• Entertainment

September 27 – October 6, 2024.