"A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Play House

Full-bodied, not too sweet

by R. Woodward

only read, this play within the

At the conclusion of the open-play seems like a rather forced ing night performance of The epilog. When performed, howCleveland Play House's producever, especially here with Kisicki tion of Shakespeare's "A Midas Bottom, it reveals itself to be summer Night's Dream" several the play's emotional climax--the playgoers were heard saying that good cheer of a happy ending this was the best production that brimming over into hilarity. they had ever seen of this play.. Seldom have both the poetry and the humor that Shakespeare put into this play come across so well.

Largely responsible for how well the poetry comes across is the performance of Carol Reed as Titania, Queen of the Fairies. Titania has many of the play's most beautiful lines and Reed's delivery gets the most out of their word music.

This production uses very little background music, but it is never missed, so much rhythm and melody can be heard in the words themselves. At one point. in fact, towards the middle of the play, when a bit of background music is introduced it seems like an intrusion--not because the music is in any way overbearing. but because Reed is speaking at the moment and the playgoer does not want to miss any nuance of her delivery.

Largely responsible for the humor coming across so well is the often killingly funny performance of James P. Kisicki as Bottom.

In the printed text of this play almost all of what is designated as Act V. consists of a complete performance of the unintention ally funny Tragedy of Pyramus and Thisby which Bottom and a group of fellow menials have prepared in honor of the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. When

Kisicki has found all of the right emphases for making all of Bottoms' motivations and actions, all of his presumptions and inadequacies, crystal clear. Seldom has an actor playing Bottom managed to give an audience such a good look at what makes Bottom such a great comic character.

The actors who play Bottom's fellow amateur thespians-Richard Halverson as Quince, Kelly Lawrence as Snug, Gary Smith as Flute, Norm Berman as Snout, and Wayne S. Turney as Starveling--join with Kisicki to produce such potent ensemble comedy effects, all within the confines of the script. that slapstick has never seemed like such a noble art.

The performances of Kisicki and Reed are not only remarkable by themselves, but also provide focal points around which the playgoer can perceive the whole play more easily. These two also seem to have inspired the actors working with them.

Solid, thoughtful, clear, wellorganized the acting of Joe D. Lauck has always seemed to be the work of someone who functions best as a down-to-earth prose stylist, but here as Oberon, the king of the supernatural realm depicted in the play and Titania's husband, he evokes very effectively a sense of the uncanniness of his role and its milieu and gets across with ease the lyricism that Shakespeare

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has put into many of his lines.

Puck or Robin Goodfellow is a potent but not infallible supernatural being, mischievous. earthy, and sometimes loutish, who is able to circle the earth in 40 minutes. William Rhys uses his gymnastic abilities and clear, mellifluous diction to give an embodiment of Puck that is both energetic and persuasive.

The play consists of several threads of action interwoven.

Duke Theseus, ruler of Athens. will marry in a few days Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. (He has won her defeating her in battle.)

Allen Leatherman as Theseus and Harper Jones McAdoo as Hippolyta convey effectively how Shakespeare thought people with a true sense of leadership are firm and commanding, but also tactful and diplomatic when appropriate. McAdoo graces a breast plate.

Theseus is approached by the father of Hermia who complains that she has refused to marry Demetrius, the young Athenian noble to whom he has given her hand Hermia loves Lysander. another young Athenian nobleman, who loves her in return.

The laws of Athens being what they are. Theseus tells Hermia that she is obliged to choose between marrying Demetrius. death. and entering a cloister.

Demetrius is loved unrequitedly by Hermia's best friend Helega.

Hermia and Lysander flee Athens together. pursued by Demetrius who is followed by hot and bothered Helen. In the deep forest outside Athens, lovers. supernatural beings, and amateur thespians spend the night chasing, bewitching, and confusing each other.

Sharon Bicknell as Hermia, Paul Floriano as Lysander. James Richards as Demetrius. and Mary Adams Smith as Helena have all worked hard together to make the action both fast-paced and intelligible and to find out where all the laughs are in how the four interact

The play is tightly directed by Paul Lee

This production is brisklypaced and completely avoids what is all too often the chief fault of productions of this play -. being overproduced

The set design by Gary C Eckart the costume design by Estelle Painter, and the lighting effects by James Irwin, are very evocative, help to get across con-

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vincingly the supernatural milieu without overdoing it, without ever getting in the way of the text. The stage is not jammed with countless glistening multicolored fairies merrily skipping about, trying to keep from tripping over each other.

The supernatural beings at the Play House blend tastefully into a background of the greens and

HIGH GEAR PAGE 17

browns of shadowy deep forest setting and are easily able to seem invisible when they are not moving.

The combined efforts of hundreds of insipid, glistening extras would not evoke fairydom so well, would not be nearly as amusing as the bemused look on the face of Candace Cain as one woodsy, scraggly fairy.

Robin Tyler

(Cont'd from page 16)

well as to woman. She explained how Gay men face the same oppression that women face. "The one smart thing that Gay men in California are doing is that they're attaching themselves to the feminist movement. This is good, because feminism means the right to define yourself as your own person."

"The destroying of stereotypical roles. which feminism does and encourages, is really helpful to Gay men. I don't know why they don't embrace it more

"The non-political Gay men have to realize that it's not crotch politics' They're not fighting for the right for blow jobs in steam baths. They've got to see it as a whole political force."

She spoke of the March on Washington, explaining how it must be placed in perspective with other events in the movement. "We can't place more value on it than it was. It was extremely valuable. But my high will come when I travel all over and I see that it's had an influence on peoDie organizing and fighting in their states We can't hang on to one moment. but we have to go

on

Robin Tyler photo by Bob Roehm

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