Emily Hsiang ’19
I know you’ve all had to read Shakespeare in your English classes before, and I know you’ve all had to get by through looking up the summaries on Sparknotes… In my opinion, Shakespeare’s language shouldn’t even be considered English language. And trust me, the idea behind A Midsummer Night’s Dream is just as confusing.
This sixteenth century rom-com centers around an Athenian kingdom, the fate of which has been placed in the hands of love. I initially typed out paragraphs ofexplanation but decided to simply narrow it down to this: Helena, the basket-case, wants Demetrius, the kind of guy you want your daughter to marry, who wants Hermia, the strong-headed, who wants Lysander, the romantic. Except it doesn’t work out perfectly, as the mischievous fairy Puck makes everyone fall in love with the wrong person. There was even a *big kiss* at the end of the show, but it was not between the characters you might expect).
The extremely talented MLHS cast and crew pulled off the show so clearly and creatively that, in no time, every person in the auditorium had fallen deeply into the Shakespearean world. With hilarious modern references—including Donald Trump, a Ring Pop, Harry Potter, fangirls, and a “Brooklyn hipster”—watching A Midsummer Night’s Dream was like catching your typical Reese Witherspoon rom-com on ABC Family.
The creative, visionary idea to put Shakespeare in a contemporary context was carried through the elaborate costumes, hair, and makeup that each character wore beautifully. The actors even sported clothing items from their own closets, which helped the audience understand each role in modern terms. From the glittery faces of the colorful forest fairies to the edgy, leather jackets of the Duke and Queen (Quinn Michaels and Greta Donnelly) to the way Puck’s (Charlotte Ronan) hair defied gravity, it was hard to recognize that the characters were just high school students underneath it all.
Beyond their costumes, the cast members brought so much infectious energy to the stage, and the audience was basically laughing nonstop (shoutout to Ameer Abosheriah for his bravery). You would think that all of the actors were fluent in Shakespeare talk because they made their dialogue very easy to follow. For example, Ronald Mucci’s deep, booming voice was destined to belong to the stern fairy king Oberon. Also, Sean Ruddy is probably the only person who could seamlessly transition from playing scheming little brother Pugsley in The Addams Family to playing the respectable, charming Demetrius. There was one point where I was seriously questioning whether Helena (Nicole Giordano) was actually crying or not. I still don’t know.
Now, let’s talk about the fact that around 50% of the drama’s cast 
also participates in the school band and the fact that around 100% have incredible musical talent. The cast took advantage of its highly skilled actors and brought the gift of music to Shakespeare’s play. I’m pretty sure they even used a broom as a percussion instrument at one point. Bottom (Jared Goldfischer), the aforementioned donkey, didn’t go anywhere without his ukulele, while Peter Quince (Olivia Reinebach) played the piano like a professional accompanist—sometimes while the piano was moving. Erin Bender confirmed that she really can sing anything, in any context, and the sweet, soft voice of Isabella Fiacco brought the house down as she led the group in “Everybody” by Ingrid Michaelson. It’s been confirmed: everyone needs to go and see more of this MLHS talent in the upcoming spring musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Behind all of the drama, the stage crew stitched everything together as smooth
ly as butter. One might even say “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” in regards to the stage crew’s ability to move the show along without a hitch. Not only did the crew have to clean up a mess of popcorn (aftermath of the show) every night for the entire performance week, but there were so many set pieces to get straight as well, and the crew handled it perfectly. The trees that set the scene were taken right from the woods outside of the school, and even the beautiful artwork on the posters and programs was created by MLHS students Sofia Foli and Ashley Van Sickle.
Congrats to the director, Christine Penney, a new addition to the MLHS drama team, whose endless passion and creativity came through in the show. Samantha Charwat ‘18, also known as Hermia onstage, says, “Ms. Penney has taught me how connected acting and theater are to real life and inspired me in every rehearsal. The entire cast had so much fun working with her on Midsummer!” Clearly, the cast is like a family, and when the lights came up at the end of the show, it was easy to feel like you were best friends with each and every one of the characters. Yet, at the same time, it was impossible to believe that they were our fellow students, who seem to be too talented to know in real life.
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Bravi tutti to the cast and crew on a wonderful production, and also to Emily on this well-written review 🙂
~Mrs. B