A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA
through August 17, 2013
by Joan Mento
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” comes full circle as Shakespeare
& Company returns to the Mount with "Midsummer"—its 1978
inaugural production. This 2013 special 90-minute production features seven
young actors (directly from their New England tour) playing all the roles. The
stage consists of a grassy dell surrounded by woods through which the energetic
actors romped. Hilarious were the high jinks of the young lovers, the fairies,
and especially the workmen when they put on the Pyramus and Thisbe play for the
wedding festivities. Despite the heat, the audience enthusiastically responded
to the many antics of the youthful actors.
None But the Lonely Heart
ended August 3, 2013
by Joan Mento
On the intimate Bernstein Stage are four musicians (from The
Ensemble for the Romantic Century) flanked by two Shakespeare & Company
actors, Jonathan Epstein and Ariel Bock. The production fused classical music,
theatre, a vocalist and a ballet dancer. The play was mostly a vehicle for
Tchaikovsky’s music as it portrayed the strange platonic relationship between
Tchaikovsky and his patron Madam Von Meck, a millionaire widow. Each actor’s
“monologues” were based on letters, diaries, and memoirs. Even though the
composer and his patron’s relationship spanned 13 years, they never actually
met, and their communication consisted of letters. The play proved to be an
engaging concert of Tchaikovsky pieces.
