Theater Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream

A song of love, a hip hop dance,
A fairy's spell, a donkey's bray,
An actor in your lap perchance,
Well spoken verse, and what to say?
By roar of laughter from the crowd,
Methinks that Shakespeare would be proud.

The brand new Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre seems just as much nightclub as theater, and its opening production by the Dallas Theater Center of A Midsummer Night's Dream was as much of a party as a play.

With chalk graffiti covering the walls, bubbles floating through the air, and Nerf balls scattered all over the floor, we felt a little irreverent, delightfully naughty, and glad we weren’t the ones who had to clean up the house before our parents got home.

Whether you’re a well studied fan of Shakespeare or have never experienced any of his plays, this production is definitely worth seeing.The DTC’s reenergized script stayed close to the original, but the dialogue was extremely easy to understand and the plot was effortlessly followed.

Sound and voices carried well, and actor-audience interaction was at a premium as scenes were performed on several levels of the extremely versatile theater as well as on the ladders that connected the stage floor to the balconies above, offering people in all seats an intimate view.

Chamblee Ferguson was HILARIOUS as Nick Bottom, the craftsman turned struggling actor; Matthew Stephen Tompkins (Oberon), Liz Mikel (Titania) and Cedric Neal (Puck) were some of the ‘kickest-tail’ fairies we’ve ever seen; and Abbey Siegworth was absolutely endearing in her role as the lovesick Helena as she climbed all over the theater and literally, the audience.

All in all, we were even more impressed with the production than we expected to be, and highly recommend experiencing it for yourself.