By Mercedes Deleon
Shakespeare’s hippies (Off Broadway Players)
By Mercedes Deleon
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is an enchanting play that captivates its audience.
Director David Wayne Nelson gave a brief description of the play and its plot.
“It is basically a love story with magical interventions by hippie fairies,” he said.
Nelson also spoke about how long everyone has been working on the play.
“We’ve been working on it since mid-February,” he said. “It’s been about eight to nine weeks.”
The play was an absolute triumph.
From the stage setup, to the costumes, to the performances; everything was nearly flawless.
The play takes place in and around San Francisco, in Buena Vista Park in the Haight-Ashbury district during 1967s great “summer of love.”
The set was well furnished and decorated.
A rotating platform allowed the play to be seen from different angles.
Different props such as trees and several musical instruments were utilized in order to create a mystical, woodsy atmosphere.
The lighting was amazing. The simple combination of red and blue lights used complimented the set.
The decorative lights on the hanging white sheets were also creative.
The costumes were something that immediately caught the viewers’ eyes.
It appeared as though much time and effort was put into the costumes, which matched the characters very well.
The colorful robes, funky outfits and ridiculous wigs brought about much humor.
Above all, the cast’s performances were exceptional. Each cast member greatly contributed to the play’s ensemble with their performances.
Oberon, played by Kevin Taylor, held an interesting and unique role. His vocals were outstanding and he managed to stay in character well.
“Shakespeare is a different beast altogether,” he said.
One of the best performances was given by Miguel Castellano who played the role of Quice.
Quice is the role of a woman madly in love. His performance was wildly humorous and entertaining.
“It really was a great learning experience,” Castellano said. “I learned so much from Mr. Nelson, who happens to be an excellent director.”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a play worth every penny and worth watching again and again.
