Shakespeare at prom?

review by Chloe Hoang

3/9/17

            A Shakespearian catfight at prom? Who wouldn’t want to see that? Even Shakespeare himself would definitely be interested to see the radical twist that Tyler Dobrowsky put to his work. Being in that 80s prom set gave the feeling of being lost in the barn dance of Footloose.

            The songs were all throwbacks that gave the audiences a hard time to stay still. All the actors and actresses did a great job performing all the throw back songs, but maybe not as much with the acting part. They showed some fine efforts of exaggerating their lines to bring humor to the show. Maybe it is the thoughts and efforts that count, and not the actual result of the work in this case. However, the humor worked very well during transitions, making the transitions between each scenes very smooth.

            To continue on the theme of humor, the costumes ae very much appreciated. The clothing of the cast was absolutely ridiculous. You cannot get bored watching the play because you can switch off between actually focusing on the acting and admiring the costumes.

It is not everyday that you would see Bottom with a donkey head walking around with just boxers on and his pants fallen down on his feet. Towards the end, you will see a whole new Thisbe played by a slim man. Only in Tyler Dobrowsky’s play would you see a somewhat muscular Thisbe with uneven white balloon boobs that “she” later on popped, one by one.

            Moreover, you will not see high school students with a higher age range than in Tyler Dobrowsky’s Midsummer Night’s Dream 80s prom. He, however, did an amazing job with casting, both regular and understudy actors. Rachel Warren who plays the role of Puck was injured, therefore could not perform that afternoon. His understudy stepped in for her. Though it was a very sudden situation, he did a phenomenal job with great humor portraying Puck. Even when he had to hold the script in his hand, he did never come out of character. He definitely did give Puck a very colorful vibe.

            Overall, Tyler Dobrowsky’s 80s version of Midsummer Night’s Dream was full of surprise. From costumes, to theme, to the last minute injury. The biggest surprise of all is that the less prepared actor did a better job than the rest of the regular cast, who were fully prepared. Shakespeare will definitely be the one who is most surprise with the twist and the way the play turns out. Will he like it though? The answer is debatable.