By Bart Greenberg***In the new Smoking Mirror Theatre production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, running at the A.R.T. theater, the mortals are indeed fools. And the fairy people aren’t much more together either. But they are all hysterically funny and passionately obsessed in this riotous version of the Bard’s farce. It is endlessly inventive and surprising in its discovery of darkness within the tale. Plus, the production features a company of actors who not only deliver the lines with clarity and understanding, but also sing, play musical instruments, dance, crawl, leap, 
wrestle and woo with great dexterity.
Co-Directors John Gondon and Ruby Rich have created a vital and varied world with this production, within essentially a bare stage: a sofa and a few wooden blocks, plus minimal but effective lighting by Nicole Blodig and clever costuming by Janet Holmes and Rich—from a glamorous golden gown for Hippolyta to a goodly amount of bare flesh for the muscular Oberon and Puck, to more contemporary clothes for the young lovers. The play exists outside of time, complete with some delightful anachronisms, the highlight of which was the two fairy people munching down on popcorn and soda as they view the chaos they’ve caused the quartet of romantics, as if they were viewing a show (but then it was Shakespeare who wrote “all the world’s a stage”). In such a physical production, kudos must also be given to choreographer Judy Fowler, dance captain Catherine Desiak and fight director Joseph Travers. And then, there were the actors.
What a skilled (and attractive) collection of performers. Each seemed to have an interior life not disclosed in the words but in their thoughts and interplay. One of the 
most impressive of the performances is one of the smallest roles, the Queen of the Amazons, as played by Desciak. Dignified, intelligent and coolly amused, she cuts her pompous, over-confident bridegroom down with each glance and every smirk. James Mackey captures the rather ridiculous figure of the King, and in time commands the stage as ruler of the underworld, Oberon, with far more authority and a great deal more humor. But even Mackey’s ruler is subject to jealousy when his prank on his queen, Titania, goes rather too well.
Titania was inhabited by co-director Rich as a fluttery, bemused and girlish woman with danger underneath and a healthy libido, rather resembling the classic character actress Mary Boland. The focus of her amatory advances is the bewitched Bottom. Abdullah Nasser brings so much energy and comic delivery that in a lesser production he would certainly steal the show, but here he fits right in with the expert company—and brings a 
high level of sexiness to the proceedings. Speaking of sexuality, the barely-clad Puck, as portrayed by Martin Challinor, brings a highly muscular and subtly dangerous undertone to his antics. It would be interesting to see what Challinor would bring to Richard III.
The young lovers were Kaleb Baker (seemingly channeling Friends’ Chandler Bing character) as Demetrius, Aaron Cirillo as a very handsome Lysander, Isabel Criado as a mercurial Hermia and Julianne Lorndale as mournful Helena. The quartet all displayed adeptness at both the verbal word play and the slapstick physicality required of them, without a moment of hesitation. Also participating were Caroline Feduccia, Anthony Savage Thorn, Robert Daniels, Rosaland Daniels, Samuel Andrews and Catherine Desciak as courtiers, mechanicals, fairies, musicians and dancers, all with a full commitment to the characters each inhabited in the moment.
This production of the Bard’s saucy comedy is definitely a Dream worth having.
Smoking Mirror Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs through Sunday, September 13. Tickets are available here.
A.R.T./New York Theatres is located at 502 W. 53rd St., NYC
Photos by Jonathan Slaff
