review by Mike Templeton
3/9/17
This might be the only production in
which a very renown Shakespearean comedy finds the perfect match and blend with
a 1980's prom. This production was both of those things combined into one, which
occurred on March 8, 2017 at the Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence,
RI. What made this play so unique and
creative was the stage designed for this performance. The theater was set in
the ''thrust'' formation which means the stage and set was surrounded by three
sections of audience seating. This
format was very appropriate for this type of show because the actors only
needed a very small space to convey the setting in each scene of the play and
the ensemble would frequently take advantage of the closeness and proximity of
the audience to play in terms of running into the rows and aisles and chasing
each other through these sections to convey the true silliness and playfulness
of the show. The center of the stage also had a section of floor which would
automatically sink to the bottom and rise up sort of like an elevator as an
additional entrance/exit for members of the ensemble again, to convey that
recurring motif of playfulness and silliness.
If there was one thing from this
play which stood out to me as notably special and unique it would be the actor
who played Puck for our performance. When our group arrived at the theater
before the performance we were told that the role of Puck would not be played
by the actress who was originally cast.
Due to an injury, the role would be played by a last minute understudy
who had ten hours to become that character for the upcoming show! The actor
would be able to have a script in hand for the performance but that was all. As
soon as this fact became apparent the performance was already doubted by some
because the use of a script might affect the portrayal of the character. As it turns out this performance was one of
the most memorable of the afternoon particularly because of all the amazing,
spontaneous character choices he made on stage in the moment to bring the
character to life despite the fact he had a script in hand. What was really
fascinating is that he made it look like he had been rehearsing and studying
this role for such a long period of time when in reality he had only looked at
these lines just a day before he went on the stage. This portrayal of the
character was reminiscent of the general outline for the show which from
reading the book and seeing many other productions of this show is generally
one which is very silly and spontaneous. The understudy who played Puck instead
of being boring and worried that there wasn’t enough time to master this
character instead made the calamity a focal point for the comedic tone of the
play which was truly incredible to witness.
In addition to this great success
the costumes for this play had an equivocal balance from the attire of the
Shakespearean era and the crazy fashion trends of the 1980's. The idea to set
this play in that time or really in the context of a prom is brilliant in a
sense because this play quite frankly conveys high school drama and love
triangles. In this comedy we see Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius whom
are all trapped in this triangle of love where the boys are constantly trying
to win the affection and admiration of the girls which is exactly reminiscent
of high school drama. Boys always trying to fight other boys to win the
affection and admiration of girls. Anyways, this play was very well done and I
would give it the highest praise because of the immense creativity and
originality present in one interpretation of the story.
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