APT presents "Midsummer Night's Dream"

Shakespeare performed under a moonlit Spring Green sky 

"If we shadows have offended,
Know but this and all is mended. 
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear, 
And this weak and idle theme, 
No more yielding than a dream." 

So says the trickster sprite Puck in the closing stanzas of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oh, but say it wasn't just a dream! This ethereal, bewitching production by the American Players Theatre (APT) in Spring Green, Wisconsin, has quite possibly ruined me for all future iterations of William Shakespeare's beloved fairytale.   




Midsummer is playing through the first week in October at the newly-renovated Hill Stage, with its uncovered, amphitheater-style seating nestled in a grove of towering uplit trees. If there's a more fitting space to stage a show about an night of magic and mischief in the woods, I can't imagine what that might be. The Hill Stage fully immerses theatergoers into Shakespeare's wooded fantasy world.  

With the forest itself setting the scene, the set design on stage is rather simplistic. A large glowing moon with curved metal accents mingles mystery and romance with more modern structure, echoing the play's themes. For those unfamiliar with the Midsummer plot, the gist is that four young lovers, bound by Athenian law to marry against their will, run away into the forest, encounter fairies and tricksters, suffer love potions, and come out of the woods changed in one way or another. The worlds of Midsummer are distinct: magic resides in the forest, law and order in Athens. 




Although the set design is simple, the costuming serves to round out each scene. When all of the fairy creatures commune on stage, the effect is one of powerful, other-worldly enchantment — as if the characters are the fantastical forest personified. Shakespeare's most famous forest-incarnate sprite is the impish Puck — a part I've only ever seen played by a man. But in a genius move, the American Players Theatre cast the sensational Cristina Panfilio. 

Panfilio brings a refreshing, modern vibe to the character, and not just by virtue of her being a woman. The way she carries herself and delivers her lines feels decidedly contemporary, and that's what makes her humor and mischief all the more likable. Truly, there are countless laugh-out-loud moments in A Midsummer Night's Dream, from Shakespeare's signature merry band of fools to the physical comedy at play throughout. I'd describe them, but I doubt I'd do such moments justice; they have to be seen.




To me, witnessing the action — hilarious and otherwise — and hearing the actors' intonations are two of the most profound reasons to go and see Shakespeare performed. People say, "Shakespeare isn't for me" — but his plays are rife with love & sex, honor & jealousy, fools & kings. Bill Shakespeare wrote for the people! And in my experience, any good theater company that performs Shakespeare nowadays has a knack for bringing it back to the people, as the author intended. 

While reading Midsummer might require more brain power than one would like, during live theater, the actors, directors, and set & costume designers have done the work for you. They've unpacked every "thy" and "thou," mastered the delivery for optimal ease-of-understanding, and staged a show to transport — not torment — the audience. The troupe at the American Players Theatre offers us the very height of the Shakespearean experience with A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

"Are you sure
That we are awake?
It seems to me
That yet we sleep, we dream." 

Midsummer Night's Dream is playing at the American Players Theatre, through October 8th. Information and tickets at americanplayers.org.

*Photos courtesy of Liz Lauren