BWW Reviews: Geva Theatre Center's Season Closer is a Happy Reverie

It could be said that Shakespeare's most popular comedy, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," has been overdone. After all, it's been around for a few hundred years- and that's a few hundred years longer than most plays last in rotation.

The tale of Athens nobility, thwarted love and forest fairies is known the world over, and theatres have reimagined the show in a vast array of eras and surroundings. Directors and designers constantly search for ways to reinvent the classic, seldom staying the course Shakespeare intended: a magical story filled with wit and whimsy.

But Geva Theatre Center is out to prove that sometimes, "the play's the thing."

Co-directors Mark Cuddy and Skip Greer have mingled deliberate interpretations of lofty Shakespearean verse with clean staging and talented actors. Add a dash of set and costume design that visualizes the masterful script and a world of fairy dust and stately Greek columns is created.

Jo Winiarski offers a stunning set that appears to be anchored on a giant, moss-covered tree stump. Luxuriant draperies hang to simulate Duke Theseus's court, and behind the curtains is a knoll twinkling with fireflies. The sides of the set look like layers, or perhaps (more metaphorically), the inner workings of a lens. Ann Wrightson's lighting design only furthers the ambiance of the set, backlighting an other-worldly sun and flecking the cast with soft moonlight.

Using a generous helping of glitter, a fairy ensemble in green-hued wigs and filmy, richly colored fabrics, Pamela Scofield dresses the cast in the stuff of dreams. From beginning to end, the play yields no shortage of fascinating things to gaze upon.

Each actor who graces the stage is better than the next, from local players to equity cardholders. The cast translates the beauty of the language from their woodland playground with a reverence that dares the audience not to stir for fear of collapsing weighty moments.

Among the cast, several players are particularly gripping. The beloved role of Robin Goodfellow (better known as Puck) is played with apt mischief by George Abud. Keith Hamilton Cobb and Carly Street play both the royal pairs -Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta, Oberon and Titania - with an ease and differentiation of character development. Street's natural sensuality plays into Titania more strongly, and Cobb is a patient, kind Theseus. Emily Kunkel (Helena), Ian Holcomb (Demetrius) and Brian O'Connor (Nick Bottom) provide the audience with plenty of merriment. Local actor Rebecca Rand (First Fairy), a high school student, is fearless as she interacts with Puck and delivers a sweet lullaby a capella.

At three hours long (including intermission), the play isn't quite "swift as a shadow or short as any dream," but it is one that will hold the attention of an elementary school student with its energetic cast and sublime aesthetic.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is an impressive closer for a smashingly successful 2012-13 season - including national headlines for Geva's "culture club" audience engagement and the four millionth ticket sale.

By the end of the show, Shakespeare's own words ring true: "No epilogue, I pray you, for your play needs no excuse."

A Midsummer Night's Dream runs through June 2. For tickets, call 585-232-GEVA.

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