A Review of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

This year, a new crop of actors has risen to take the place of last year’s all-star cast, and they have done so spectacularly well. They started this year out with William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.The plot follows the hilarious, fickle, and often ironic nature of love between several characters, completed by interference from the faerie king, Oberon, and his mischievous sidekick, Puck. The story is a confusing twist of who loves whom. Hermia loves Lysander, and Helena loves Demetrius; however, Hermia catches Demetrius’ eye, so both he and Lysander love Hermia. Demetrius enlists the help of Hermia’s father, Egeus, to win his daughter’s hand. Thanks to interference from the meddling Puck, Lysander falls in love with Helena, and Demetrius falls again in love with Helena. Finally, after much confusion and heartache, both men love the women who love them. All the while, a rag-tag bunch of actors rehearses for their play, “Pyramus and Thisbe,” somehow managing to get themselves tangled up in the mysterious world of the faeries. All in all, the cast played their parts to perfection, with just the right amounts of expression and emotion. One of the standout characters of the night was Caleb Richards. He brought energy and excitement to the part of the confident and hilarious Nick Bottom, and throughout the whole night, he had the audience in stitches. Other characters also brought their best to the stage. Cate Richardson, who played the part of Puck, executed her role with a unique combination of expressiveness and spirit that brought life to the mischievous faerie. Kaili Nguyen and Nika Gorski acted the parts of the unfortunate Hermia and Helena with brilliant and energetic performances that brought their own charismatic and thoughtful personalities to the stage. Jackson Davis and Noah Youmans were perfect in the parts of Lysander and Demetrius, and brought the rivalry between the two men to new heights with their powerful performances. Caroline Terrell provided a mysterious and, at times, dark twist to the two-sided faerie king, Oberon, while Catherine Dubé brought her own warm and enthusiastic personality to the faerie queen, Titania. Finally, Lauren Uhland wowed us all with her superb comedic timing as Tom Snout, or the wall. There are many more characters to recognize who also brought their characters to life on stage, although they aren’t mentioned. Last but not least, a thank you is owed to Mr. Dema, who dedicated hours of his time to this play in order to make it a success. Mrs. McQuade also worked tirelessly as the technical director, along with the backstage crew, to ensure that everything went smoothly. Another special shoutout to Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Nielsen, as well as Mr. Sheldon, for helping to make the play happen.  When I interviewed the cast after the play, they were all smiles and laughs as they told me their favorite parts of the play. Catherine Dubé explained that her favorite part was when she is “on stage and asleep, and Nick has voice cracks” as Thisbe while she tries not to laugh. Lauren Uhland says that her wall was her favorite part, as well as Noah’s line: “One I’ll slay, the other slayeth me.” Nika Gorski says her favorite part about her experience “was getting to know everyone” as well as “the adrenaline rush backstage.”All in all, the play was a huge hit, and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are all looking forward to what the next performance will bring.