Dreaming, Midsummer at Bard on the Beach

There is something wonderfully comforting about revisiting old favorites. I have seen "A Midsummer Night's Dream" so many times, in various different incarnations, that I almost passed it up at this year's Bard on the Beach. Lucky for me that I did not, because the when something is an old favorite it is comfortable and loose and you have room to interpret it in wildly creative ways. Certainly, "Dream" is an old favorite to the Bard on the Beach crew as well, having been staged 5 times in the 15 years since Bard's inception, and what they've come up with is beyond expectations. "It's a silly dream, really," the woman at the fundraising counter told me, "but it's one that everyone can relate to. Who hasn't had a dream about being up on stage in their underwear?" And indeed, there is "Mischievous Puck" up on stage, outfitted in red Converse sneakers, a colourful tulle tutu and... his underwear!

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is not one of the serious plays, that's for sure, but their seems to be even more fun in it than I ever remembered. Titania, the fairy queen is resplendent in ribbons and stiletto boots while the meddlesome fairies do showtunes and barbershop quartets in outfits Cyndi Lauper would love. In the forests outside of Athens, 4 youthful lovers, a company of simple actors and two quarrelling fairies are thrown together for the night. With the help of some magic flowers, Bottom the Weaver is turned into an ass, and Titania falls in love with him. Both human men fall for the same woman and the chaos causes non-stop laughter until "morning" when everything is set right again.

All said and done, the acting is superb and the play pretty much guarantees a good time, whether it's a new experience for you or a return to an old favorite. That's how old favorites become so loved after all, through many creative re-tellings.