Quintessence Theatre is bringing two Shakespeare plays with the same cast to run in tandem for March and April. “Antony and Cleopatra” will open this Saturday, a week after “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” one of the bard’s most popular. “Midsummer” is a comedy set in Athens with several intertwined stories about love. But there is also magic and confusion that envelopes the characters as a magic potion effects the lovers’ choices.
Duke Theseus is going to marry Queen Hippolyta in a few days. At the same time, one of his noblemen, Egeus, has come to the duke to complain that his daughter, Hermia, is resisting her father’s demands to marry Demetrius because she is in love with Lysander. The rules of the day are that she must adhere to her father’s choice or be put to death.
Then there is Helena, Hermia’s best friend, who is in love with Demetrius and planned to marry him before he left her for Hermia. These tales make up the main story of “Midsummer.” But there are two other stories that are happening at the same time.
The second story brings us to a forest of fairies who have their own problems and secretly engage with the young lovers. King Oberon and Queen Titania are at odds with each other while they observe what is going on in Athens with Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius. The king employs his sprite, Puck, to find a potion to put in the eyes of the lovers that will change their desires. He also decides to put it in the eyes of his queen. Unfortunately, the knavish Puck makes mistakes and chaos ensues.
There is also the preparation for the wedding, for which Peter Quince has gathered “The Mechanicals” to perform the play, “Pyramus and Thisbe” on the wedding day. That play is about young lovers and family feuds and mistakes that lead to deaths. At the rehearsals, Quince must deal with the over-inflated ego of Nick Bottom, who wants to play many roles.
It is a joy to watch so many fine actors enact the stories so realistically. Under the fine direction of Alex Burns, each one powerfully reveals his or her emotions with a look or a movement that tells us a story. My favorite was Puck (Lee Thomas Cortopassi), who when not creating mischief, watches the events unfold, and we watch him as much as we watch the scene itself. But the truth is, I’d have to name each member of the cast for the quality that he/she brings to the many characters.
Twelve actors portray the twenty roles with beautiful costumes which they must change rapidly as the play moves back and forth among the alternating scenes. It is a visual treat- so much so that it alone takes us into the play. But it is also challenging. Having reviewed a Shakespeare play last month at Lantern Theatre, I am reminded how difficult it is for the modern audience to “translate” Shakespearian English into today’s English. Once again, I advise anyone going to see a Shakespeare play to read a summary beforehand.
My main criticism is not with the production but with the program, which was a program for both this play and for “Antony & Cleopatra.” It was all about “Antony & Cleopatra.”I wanted more, including the names of the actors playing multi-roles with their pictures beside it as opposed to on the first page. And though I know that in Shakespearian England, that all the roles were played by men, I was confused by the choice to portray some women as men but not all. And I wish I’d realized earlier in the play that Oberon, the king, was the woman, and Titania, his queen was portrayed by a man.
But the bottom line for this production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is that it was funny, it was clever, it was visually stimulating, and it was mostly accessible. And we are reminded by one immortal line of Puck- “What fools these mortals be.” How many plays of today will still be meaningful in 400 years?
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare at Quintessence Theatre, 7137 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19119, 215-987-4450, quintessencetheatre.org in repertory with “Antony & Cleopatra” ”Thru April 27, 2025
**** Quintessence has since expanded its original program with four pages about “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I saw this when I attended “Antony & Cleopatra.”
Philadelphia Theater Reviews by Frank Burd 