ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The Montford Park Players continue their 53rd season, “A Season of Lunatics, Lovers, & Poets,” with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” directed by Glenna Grant and running at 7:30 p.m., Friday to Saturday, July 4–Aug. 2, at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre, 92 Gay St.
When it comes to Shakespearean comedy, having actors that are at ease around the language is essential. In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the Montford Park Players not only came comfortable with their iambic pentameter, but walked circles around it, bringing a full company of maniacally-pitched performances to fore in the forest. I was in tears from laughter by the end of the night.
The heightened hijinks of the cast made for a blessedly breezy stroll through the show, clocking in at around two-and-a-half hours with intermission. Every actor brought the necessary energy to keep the Shakespeare moving and shaking, be it the tightly-wound freak-outs of Patrick Nguyen’s buff Demetrius, the sly, odd slinking of Kai Strange’s Puck or the cheery confidence of always-reliable Carly “Goober” Berdine’s Bottom.
Like earlier Players installments this season, this version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is given a modern varnish, ostensibly transposed into the 1990s. However, unlike “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” which was made funnier and more legible from its 1950s dressing, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” gains nothing substantial from the updated setting. In fact, it only serves to make the consistency of the show more confusing: Every human character may be clothed in unassuming 90s garb, but the faeries are costumed in everything from togas to combat boots, neither entirely 90s-coded or magically anachronistic.
However, despite the incongruous feel of the wardrobe, the faerie costumes, designed by Kelly Chambers, are undeniably gorgeous, with actors covered in swirling black tattoos and evocations of forest creatures. Several faerie actors had costumes enhanced by incredible-looking puppets, such as Snot Otter the Hellbender, designed by Nicole Schilling, built by Emily Dake and performed by Helen Mauro. The faeries excelled in selling the stage’s transformation into the magical forest, aided by a fantastic act of vine-draped set design by Grant.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was my first Montford Park Players show when I was a very little kid. I left that show – my first ever live Shakespeare performance – with the bug for the Bard. If this rendition is your first outing with the Players, I can almost guarantee you’ll feel the exact same way I did then: entranced, transported and delighted.
Check out our photos from the show:
The Montford Park Players 53rd season:
- “The Book of Will,” May 9–31 – Review
- “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” June 6–28 – Article
- “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” July 4–August 2 – Review
- “Cyrano de Bergerac,” August 8–30
- “King Lear,” September 5–27
- “She Kills Monsters,” October 3–25
CORRECTION – 11:50 a.m., Wednesday, July 16, 2025: A previous version of this article misspelled costume builder Emily Dake’s name as Emily Drake. This mistake has been amended.