Review by Linda Relyea
From the moment the curtain rises, the magic of live theatre begins. A breathtakingly beautiful set, incredible acrobatics, and hilarious scenes make the Adams State University Theatre production, William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a show to behold. Tickets are still available for the annual holiday play performed on the San Luis Valley Federal Bank Main Stage, located in the Theatre Building. Public performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 and 9 and 2 p.m. Dec. 10. Tickets may also be reserved by calling 719-587-8499. The box office is open from 2:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The actors do a marvelous job of reciting lines with meaning and understanding and the action alone will entertain. Swooping across stage on cloth ribbons, dancing to reggae beats, and pulling and tugging at each other during disagreements, the play is non-stop amusement and frivolity.
The actors really fit their own particular character, so I had to ask the director, Jenna Neilsen, associate professor of theatre, if one of the reasons she chose to produce A Midsummer Night’s Dream was because she had the perfect group of students to play the parts. It was pure serendipity; she went into the casting process without knowing who would be given what role.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream has several performances worth mentioning including Francisco Jimenez as Puck, I can’t imagine there has ever been a better Puck no matter the decade or production. Chemistry between Kaleb Burris as Theseus/Oberon and Lauren Trujillo as Hippolyta/Titania keeps the sparks flying. Brandon Duran as Nick Bottom, oh-my-gosh, simply hysterical, I didn’t know if I would catch my breath from laughing at his death scene.
All the students have really outdone themselves as they put one-hundred percent into this play. Fairy meddling has Demetrius, Hermia, Lysander, and Helena (played by, in order, Travis Romero, Anakay Hanold, Michael Ricci, and Brittany Pollard) tearing off each other’s sleeves, rubbing shoulders and feet, and even pulling on ponytails. Alongside Bottom, the other mechanicals (Elissa Davis as Peter Quince, Mason Harvey as Francis Flute, Jennifer Perez as Robin Starveling, Josh Gilbertson as Tom Snout, and Taylor Trujillo as Snug the Joiner) kept me smiling and chuckling at their antics when not laughing so hard my cheeks hurt.
Escape the cold winter air and frantic holiday shoppers and enter the warm world of merriment, color and fantasy that is A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Tickets are $10 for general public, $9 for seniors and students, and free to Associated Students and Faculty with current Adams State identification.
