1 April 4, 2017 By: Patricia Adekunle nique but strange. Weird but intriguing. Different but enchanting. These were all words that I can use to describe Matt Pfeiffer’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream shown at the Arden Theater Company last Wednesday night. It started off with the house band, which also comprises of the lead actors within the play, playing an orchestra of different instruments, from the acoustic guitar to the washboards. Even though the show hadn’t started, I still thought it was a peculiar way to begin it but in all honesty, from the moment I walked into the theater, I knew it wouldn’t be an ordinary experience; and I was right. The show is a modern twist on the classic tale of forbidden love that is considered to be one of the most foundational plays in Western culture. This play, and the way it is executed, requires an open mind. Forbidden love is seen throughout the show as an ongoing theme, even though the audience is bouncing from one-time period to another. The story is a romantic comedy that depicts the events circulating around the love story of Hippolyta and Theseus. The story goes on to feature the trials and tribulations of four young lovers who become enchanted under a botanic spell. The characters within this production are the main reason as to why this production is so unique in its own way: they wear regular clothes and look more like people in today’s society. Crazy, right? It’s as if they are able to forget about the current time period that they are actually in and make themselves believe that we all took a quick trip back to ancient Athens, and then back. Then back to Athens. Then back to now. The cast is bursting at the seams with talented actors and actresses. Mary Tuomanen, Lindsay Smiling, Sean Close and Brandon J. Pierce as Puck, Oberon/Theseus, Bottom and Demetrius offered comedic relief while Taysha Marie Canales as Hermia, who is making her return back to the Arden, and Rachel Camp as Helena, offer a great mixture of both love- stricken tragedy and catty entertainment. A definite standout moment was when Puck and Oberon were at the top of the stage, smoking hookah while down on the stage, a complete disaster was occurring: the lovers begin to lay their eyes on someone other than who their heart desires and the kicker is that they can’t control it. Puck was doing exactly what I was doing, which was cracking up in my seat. Tuomanen and Smiling had a distinct chemistry that I didn’t really see amongst the other characters, and that was okay with me. Due to this and the nature of Puck’s character, you can’t help but fall in love with the dynamic duo. A Midsummer Night’s Dream had the audience cackling in their seats while also wondering what things would be like if minds could easily be controlled, as the same time. It was a pleasant surprise and I have to say, I ...

1. 1
April 4, 2017
By: Patricia Adekunle
nique but strange. Weird but intriguing.
Different but enchanting. These were
all words that I can use to describe Matt
Pfeiffer’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream shown at
the Arden Theater Company last Wednesday
night. It started off with the house band, which
also comprises of the lead actors within the play,
playing an orchestra of different instruments,
from the acoustic guitar to the washboards. Even
though the show hadn’t started, I still thought it
was a peculiar way to begin it but in all honesty,

2. from the moment I walked into the theater, I
knew it wouldn’t be an ordinary experience; and
I was right.
The show is a modern twist on the classic
tale of forbidden love that is considered to be
one of the most foundational plays in Western
culture. This play, and the way it is executed,
requires an open mind. Forbidden love is seen
throughout the show as an ongoing theme, even
though the audience is bouncing from one-time
period to another. The story is a romantic
comedy that depicts the events circulating around
the love story of Hippolyta and Theseus. The
story goes on to feature the trials and tribulations
of four young lovers who become enchanted
under a botanic spell.
The characters within this production are
the main reason as to why this production is so

3. unique in its own way: they wear regular clothes
and look more like people in today’s society.
Crazy, right? It’s as if they are able to forget
about the current time period that they are
actually in and make themselves believe that we
all took a quick trip back to ancient Athens, and
then back. Then back to Athens. Then back to
now. The cast is bursting at the seams with
talented actors and actresses. Mary Tuomanen,
Lindsay Smiling, Sean Close and Brandon J.
Pierce as Puck, Oberon/Theseus, Bottom and
Demetrius offered comedic relief while Taysha
Marie Canales as Hermia, who is making her
return back to the Arden, and Rachel Camp as
Helena, offer a great mixture of both love-
stricken tragedy and catty entertainment.
A definite standout moment was when

4. Puck and Oberon were at the top of the stage,
smoking hookah while down on the stage, a
complete disaster was occurring: the lovers begin
to lay their eyes on someone other than who
their heart desires and the kicker is that they
can’t control it. Puck was doing exactly what I
was doing, which was cracking up in my seat.
Tuomanen and Smiling had a distinct chemistry
that I didn’t really see amongst the other
characters, and that was okay with me. Due to
this and the nature of Puck’s character, you can’t
help but fall in love with the dynamic duo.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream had the
audience cackling in their seats while also
wondering what things would be like if minds
could easily be controlled, as the same time. It
was a pleasant surprise and I have to say, I
actually enjoyed it. The overlapping theme of

5. music and magic and forbidden love resonated
U
Photo Credit: Marc Gavin
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Classic with a Twist
2
April 4, 2017
with me throughout the entire play. Eliana Fabiyi
and her fiddle have a lot to do with that. Fabiyi
made her debut at the Arden and she ended the
play with a special spot in my brain. She
exemplified what an instrumental is to me and
she wasn’t loud but she wasn’t quiet. She went
with the flow of the play and I liked it a lot.
One thing I will say about this
production, aside from the open mindedness, is

6. that you have to have an imagination. The actors
do a great job of starting your mind off with a
vision but as the viewer, you have to take that
vision and imagine the scenery; imagine the
bright moon; imagine the emotion and the
feeling. A show like this will challenge you as the
viewer to really open up, relax and imagine.
An Old
Favorite
with a New
Twist
Wows at
Arden
GORDON WALBERT
Katherine Powel (Hippolyta), Lindsay Smiling (Oberon), and
Mary Tuomanen (Puck)
A Midsummer Night’s

7. Dream by William
Shakespeare performed at
Arden Theater March 2 –
April 9 directed by Matt
Pfeiffer
The Arden Theater Company
produced a musical version of
the classic play A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. Under the
direction of Matt Pfeiffer, the
whole cast put on one of the
most memorable performances
of Shakespeare. This romance
filled comedy follows two
couples and a cast of players as
their night in the forest is
meddled with by fairies and
powers greater than their own.

8. The theme of love that is central
to the play is translated and
enhanced by the musical
accompaniment scored by Alex
Bechtel.
This update on the old
classic made Shakespeare more
accessible to even the most
inexperienced theater goers yet
still enjoyable to the well
versed. The whole production
had a southern folk hipster feel
to it. The set was a free-flowing
backdrop full of instruments,
vintage chairs, and an upper
level balcony that added a depth
to a smaller more intimate
theater. The actors were in

9. trendy street clothes for most
the production, and the score
can best be described as indie
folk covers pop. The actors all
fit their own roles like they
were written for them, which is
doubly impressive when it is
discovered that all but one actor
is double cast. The audience
had two favorites. The loud
stand-offish Puck, as played by
Mary Tuomanen, was a
character perfectly designed to
be a vehicle for Shakespeare’s
tongue-in-cheek humor. Nick
bottom, played by Dan Hodge,
is the egotistical, wannabe
super-star that the audience

10. loves to see as the butt of jokes.
Both actors flawlessly executed
their roles as comedic relieve
during the more somber
moments of the play.
Matt Pfeiffer, who did
18 seasons with the
Pennsylvania Shakespeare
Festival, is no stranger to
Shakespearean Productions, and
it is very evident in this
production. Matt’s masterful
rework manages to convey all
the same messages as the
original while bringing it up to
date with the times. It is very
apparent that Matt trusted his
cast to play with their roles just

11. as he did with the script and the
score (with the assistance of
Bechtel of course). Matt and the
whole production crew artfully
executed all the technical
aspects of the production
enhance the acting and the
storyline. Bravo to the Arden
Theater Company, cast, and
crew on a wonderful, updated
production of the Shakespeare
classic, A Midsummers Night
Dream.