Paper Mill Playhouse
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Through May 21. More info here.

One of the great things about Shakespeare is that no matter how many symbols, periods and gimmicks you load onto his plays, he bears the burden willingly, even cheerfully. Such is the case with Tina Landau’s rollicking adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse through May 21. (If you don’t remember your Shakespeare, you can find the plot here.)

Landau’s version is a mostly but not entirely modern-dress musical comedy. Some of the tricks work. Some don’t. But even when they start to wear thin, Shakespeare is always available to come to the rescue. Especially when he gets help from Lea DeLaria as Nick Bottom.

Casting a woman as Bottom is an invitation to ponder gender, sex roles and sexuality. Is this Bottom a man who happens to be played by a woman? Is she a woman disguised as a man to help her pick up women? (What, after all, is more butch than a fireplug of a girl dressed as a garbageman?) Is Bottom simply beyond gender, like Saturday Night Live’s Pat?

None of this really matters when DeLaria gets going. In her rendition, Nick Bottom seizes control of the stage and absolutely refuses to let go, channeling Jackie Gleason, John Belushi, Curly Howard, Elvis Presley and a few I probably missed.

The music comes from an engaging pop/rock/folk trio called GrooveLily. Most of the songs are Shakespeare’s. Some were actually written as songs, though the tunes have been lost. GrooveLily’s own songs, opening each half of the play, are a little front-and-center for my taste. But their transformation of Bottom and Co.’s rendition of Pyramus and Thisbe into a rock opera is delightful.

Other performances of note:

We’ve all had dreams where we’re dressed all wrong. This is a Dream that takes full advantage. Sometimes I thought I was watching A Midsummer Night’s Beefcake, between the Speedo-equivalents worn by Puck (Guy Adkins) and Titania’s fairy retinue, and the tendency of the male lovers to start shedding their clothes to demonstrate the depth of their love. Maybe this is what offended the conservative crowd that frequents the Paper Mill. The night we went, we saw more than a dozen muttering patrons leave at intermission, summed up by the overheard plaint of one: ``Bring back `Oklahoma!’ ‘’

If you like your Shakespeare in robes, tights and clipped British accents, this is not your show. For the rest of us, it’s more than worth a look.                Warren Levinson

May 3, 2006 in Theater | Permalink