A Midsummer Night's Dream

The Samo theater program’s haunting rendition of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” successfully bridges the gap between reality and fantasy, creating a bewitching quasi-reality. Throngs of eager audience members flooded the hallways, and others showed up only to be turned away from a rapidly sold-out theater. Although some people slunk away disappointed, some last minute scheduling enabled some to enter the Humanities Center and become immersed in the play’s rich literature.Twisting vines and translucent canopies hid the stage, the vines creating curtain-like partitions and transforming the theater into a magical forest, with leafy branches and a mulch-covered floor. These swamp-like surroundings stood in stark contrast with the elegant, Elizabethan costumes, creating a tangible sense of the difference between dream and reality. The wild sets displayed the powers of the fairies, whose magic and mishaps shape the plot of the play.What begins as a simple love story between Hermia and Lysander quickly becomes a sprawling, tangled mess of lust and jealousy as Helena and Demetrius are introduced. Demetrius’ unrequited love for Hermia is only matched by Helena’s insatiable passion for Demetrius, who spurns her every advance.The lover’s cycle of jealousy and affection felt achingly real, and surprisingly reminiscent of high school today. When Helena’s refusal to believe Demetrius’ and Lysander’s love for her, and she waxes nostalgic on how close she and Hermia used to be, her reflection on friendship torn apart by romance is a familiar tale for the high school audience. The sequences of the lovers together resemble the fearlessly loving couples found about Samo, and Hermia’s refusal to follow her father’s wish to marry Demetrius places her centuries-old character with the hundreds of rebellious teens who argue with their parents across America today. Oberon and Titania’s quarrels and waves of affection are also fixtures in society today, as their love-hate relationship is typical of a dysfunctional family.The high school students’ ability to transcend their normal dialect of casual slang language and easily speak the extended metaphors and complex personification that is Shakespeare’s trademark was nothing short of remarkable. Their acting abilities easily showed the underlying emotions and allowed the audience to easily understand and enjoy the play. Several audience members remarked on how this production marked the first time they understood “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — high praise indeed.Shakespeare’s timeless words gracefully carried along the audience in a wave of humor, love, jealousy and nostalgia until the end was at hand. As hollow flute music played out above the audience, the final lines were said as characters departed, no more substantial than a dream.Aliza AbarbanelStaff Writeraabarbanel@thesamohi.com