‘Dream' on Green a triumph

Maybe it was the perfect night of cloudless skies, calm winds and temperatures just north of chilly.

Maybe it was Robbie Jones' attractive, eye-catching, massive set: seven tall, rectangular pillars rising over wide, angled staircases, all of it drip-painted ivory over gray and framed by the green of Elmwood Park.

Maybe it was Lindsay Pape's Elizabethan costumes: rich colors and fabrics for the royals, spangled pastels for the fairies, dark plumage for Oberon and his henchmen.

Or maybe it was the ensemble work from director A. Bryan Humphrey's cast, strong from top to — literally — Bottom.

Whatever it was, opening night of the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival's 25th anniversary season left little doubt that the internal strife and financial pinch of two years ago are in the past. The festival, which has never charged admission, looks as strong as ever with its third production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” which drew about 1,600 people Thursday night.

Nor was there any doubt that crowd liked what it saw, evidenced by spontaneous rounds of applause, warm laughter and a rousing curtain call.

Humphrey helps his talented cast with creative staging that fully uses all those stairsteps, composing striking pictures for the eye all night. He also includes plenty of physical comedy, particularly among the four young lovers when Puck's potion confuses the issue of who is in love with whom.

In fact, Marcus Kyd, as smitten Lysander; Tara Franklin, as rebellious Hermia; Kelly Misek Jr., as fickle Demetrius; and Sarah Carlson-Brown, as long-suffering Helena consistently delighted the crowd whether fussing and feuding or lusting after each other with abandon. Carlson-Brown, in particular, scored laughs with clever line readings and comic timing.

Just as fun was the scene in which Michael Lewis, a personal favorite as self-satisfied Nick Bottom (magically turned into an ass), languishes in glory while a small bevy of fairies grants his every wish.

And Bottom's band of merry amateur thespians, performing for the wedding celebration of King Theseus (Alan Brincks) and Queen Hippolyta (Erica DeBoer), ham it up but good to cap off the night. Both the royal audience onstage and the larger one nestled on the hillside enjoyed the so-bad-they're-great wedding players.

Vincent Carlson-Brown, as imposing fairy king Oberon; Maryann Towne, as his scrappy Queen Titania; and John Dittrick, as Oberon's spritely lieutenant, Puck, each had their fans as well. Konrad Case rounds out the gifted principal players as Hermia's wronged father, Aegeus.

There's not a weak player in the bunch, right down to smaller roles such as Gage Wallace as Quince, who casts the amateur theatricals, and Faith Fossett as the first fairy.

Scenic designer Jones does a clever job of transforming city to forest with green netting strung between pillars and around doorways. As darkness falls, tiny lights in the netting emerge to form a starry backdrop.

Brisk pacing and judicious trims to the script mean the show lasts just over two hours, with intermission.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com

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