‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: A Review

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is playing at the Guthrie until March 23 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage. This piece is a silly, magical romp in which young love seeks to establish itself, struggling against both the complexity of human emotion and divine intervention. It is also a play that celebrates theater as a community-building activity — a thing joyfully (and argumentatively) pursued with friends before it is optimistically brought in front of an audience.

But chances are that you know all of that already: “Midsummer” is one of those Shakespearean staples that most theater lovers have seen dozens of times.

If you count yourself among that crew (I do) and can’t decide if you really need to see “Midsummer” again (I almost didn’t go), allow me to be the voice on your shoulder telling you to go. After all, my reluctant self has been breathlessly singing its praises since intermission began.

This production is a colorful, enthusiastic ode to one of Shakespeare’s most off-the-wall comedies and is a refreshing breath of love and springtime in the midst of what is a stressful, drab winter for a lot of us.

The Guthrie’s Artistic Director, Joseph Haj, directed this iteration of “Midsummer.” His skillful hand is a constant presence throughout the show. Haj’s shows often feel both well-oiled and free-wheeling — this production of “Midsummer” is no exception. With no insider knowledge to speak of, my guess is that Haj balances incisive directorial instruction with a willingness to grant his cast and creative team the space to play and seek their own creative limits. It’s a potent combination.

Haj bookends this production of “Midsummer” with two conversational moments with Royer Bockus, the actor who plays Helena. Bockus approaches the audience, ukelele in hand, while the house lights are still up and offers a little historical context before asking the audience a few questions about their own love lives. Bockus eases the audience into “Midsummer” by reminding us that, though the conceit is a little ridiculous and the story a little old, there is a reason we keep telling this love story.

“Midsummer” is scored by one-man band Jack Herrick, who some might recognize from his work with the Guthrie’s 2023 production of Hamlet. Herrick created the original music and compositions for “Midsummer,” and he performs every night, mixing live and pre-recorded instrumentals that breathe new life into this production. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this rendition a musical, but several monologues and moments are converted into songs and musical vignettes. A delicate balance is struck — one that will delight people who love musicals without alienating those who don’t.

Lex Liang’s costume and set design are stunning. The stage is framed with a pink, leafy jungle. Ethereal, glowing flowers are suspended from the ceiling. A huge, sculpted moon hovers at the back of the stage. The central set-piece — an asymmetrical, curving stone staircase — is adorned in the vibrant pinks and greens of the fairy realm.

Liang utilizes color to great effect: he dresses royalty in flowing white and gold robes, nobility in breathtaking grayscale pieces, and fairy realm inhabitants in the same vivid pinks and greens that make the set pop. From Hermia’s gradient grayscale dress to Titania’s robe of oversized roses to Demetrius’s oversized, patent leather shoes, Liang makes bold, beautiful choices.

The casting of this show is exciting. Although there are many Guthrie favorites (Remy Auberjonois, William Sturdivant, Dustin Bronson, Aimee K. Bryant, John Catron, Regina Marie Williams and Max Wojtanoicz), the four lovers are all making their Guthrie debuts. This was a bold choice by the Guthrie and one that pays off handsomely. Royer Bockus is a nerdy Helena, Ari Derambakhsh is a fierce Hermia, Jonathan Luke Stevens is a hilarious Lysander and Justin Withers is an earnest Demetrius.

There are so many parts of this production that I want to speak at length on (the way that the play-within-a-play had our audience laughing harder than any audience I’ve been a part of in recent memory, the way Remy Auberjonois interpreted Bottom with a warmth and incredulity that had me liking one of Shakespeare’s most notoriously annoying clowns, the innovative silent-film-inspired retelling of the first half of the show that kicked off the second, etc. etc. etc.)

But I think you get the point.

This is the kind of production that reminds audience members how powerful theater is. A story can be over 400 years old, full of themes that have been discussed to death, composed of words that have been spoken millions (billions?) of times by millions (billions?) of people, and it can still feel fresh in the right hands and under the right circumstances.

I recommend “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for anyone who is looking to celebrate love this February, people who like adaptations that prioritize the spirit of a show over its substance and anyone who needs a good laugh — which is probably all of us these days.

You still have a month and a half to see “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Guthrie. Tickets start at $32. There are several accessible performances (ASL-interpreted, audio-described, open-captioned and “relaxed” performances). There are also several shows with post-play discussions. Those details and more can all be found on the Guthrie website, listed below.

guthrietheater.org