BWW Reviews: Nashville Ballet's World Premiere of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

How apropos it is that on the 446^th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare, Nashville Ballet would stage the world premiere of a new ballet based on his A Midsummer Night's Dream. Springing from the fertile and creative brain of artistic director Paul Vasterling, whose earlier company debuts have pushed the company to higher levels of artistic achievement, Midsummer... only adds to the luster of Nashville Ballet's already sterling reputation.

Beautifully designed by the imcomparable Campell Baird, whose stunning and sumptuous costumes for Nashville's Nutcracker have been justifiably lauded, A Midsummer Night's Dream offers a visual feast for its audiences, while the extraordinary dancers of Nashville Ballet bring the Bard's time-honored comic tale to life, proving once again what skilled artists they are while underscoring their terpsichorean flights of fancy with some astonishing acting.

The resulting production that comes from Vasterling's unerringly skillful choreography and his clearly developed vision for the piece - exquisitely expressed through Baird's costume and scenic design, Scott Leathers' stunningly evocative lighting design and the beautiful music of Felix Mendelssohn performed by members of the Nashville Symphony under the baton of Nashville Ballet music director Paul Gambill - is a rousing and fitting conclusion to the company's 24^th season, clearly paving the way to a stellar silver anniversary season that will open next fall with a full production of Swan Lake.

Showcasing the incredible talents of Nashville Ballet's hardworking company of dancers, A Midsummer Night's Dream re-interprets Shakespeare's fanciful comedy, retaining its joyful zaniness matched with its unyielding sense of romance and fantasy. In fact, setting the tale on a youthfully exuberant ballet company such as Nashville Ballet may bring A Midsummer Night's Dream to its creative zenith, artfully blending various creative techniques to even further delightful effect than previous incarnations could have. The story of fairies, woodland sprites, royals and nobles in love and a wandering band of "Rustics" presenting a boisterously playful play is endearingly faithful to Shakespeare's work, but the lovely design aesthetic found in the production, coupled with Vasterling's sheer genius, only illuminates the story, making it all the more accessible for modern audiences. Vasterling's decision to include the performances of sopranos Amy Jarman and Julie Cox and the Nashville Children's Choir, further adds to the evening's success.

The company's Eddie Mikrut and Christine Rennie are, again, beautifully paired; this time as Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies. As "The Lovers," Sadie Bo Harris and Jon Upleger engagingly portray Hermia and Lysander, while KrisSy Johnson and Brendon LaPier expertly dance the roles of Hermia and Demetrius. Rennie, Harris and Johnson are graceful and elegant, dancing their roles expertly while infusing them with a certain comic lightness and romantic warmth that is enthusiastically received by the audience. The athletically gifted and handsome Mikrut, Upleger and LaPier provide them with clearly expressed support, focusing on each man's individual strengths in doing so.

Damian Drake and Grace Rich, as Theseus and Hippolyta, are an ideally matched pair, with the tall, lithe Rich again displaying the dazzling smile that could light the entire city, while showing us her exquisite line and remarkable carriage.

As the rollicking band of "Rustics," - aka Peter Quince, Nick Bottom and company - on hand to entertain at the bridal banquet of Theseus and Hippolyta, seven members of the company are given the chance to display their skilled dancing abilities and their somewhat surprising comedic gifts. Eric Harris, retiring after 14 years with the company, is given his moment in the spotlight as Nick Bottom, who becomes, however fleetingly, the object of Titania's affections (and with a donkey's head, no less). The other members of the riotously funny troupe are Christopher Butler, Joey Stienaur, Brandon Sears, Mark Allyn Nimmo, Harry Yamakawa and Tommy Poe.

The lead fairies, so described in the playbill, are danced by Mollie Sansone, Andrea Vierra, Kimberly Ratcliffe and Kayla Rowser. Accompanied by other members of the company as The Fairy Corps de Ballet and students from the School of Nashville Ballet, they populate the stage in grand style, lending a sense of fun and fantasy to the proceedings.

Yet, if anyone should be given star billing in this production it would have to be the inimitable Christopher Stuart as the mishievously troublemaking Puck, Oberon's not-so-humble and sometimes not-so-faithful servant who stirs up the trouble to frothy and unexpected effect. Despite one seemingly minor mistake on opening night, Stuart dances with joyous abandon, inviting the audience to join in the hilarity taking place onstage.

Leathers' lighting design helps to focus the audience's collective eye more discriminatingly and it beautifully illuminates Baird's gorgeously designed sets and costumes, which recreate Shakespeare's wooded glade and clothe the dancers in fantastical garments in various shades of blue, green, pink, and lavender.

- A Midsummer Night's Dream. Scenario and choreography by Paul Vasterling. Music by Felix Mendelssohn. Based on the play by William Shakespeare. Featuring the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Paul Gambill, music director for Nashville Ballet. Presented by Nashville Ballet at Andrew Jackson Hall, The Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Nashville. Through April 25. Visit www.nashvilleballet.org for further details and ticket information.

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