Midsummer in Central Park- Page 2

[Rymes_With_Witch]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 1:04pm

Its usually much easier to get tickets in the outer boroughs...I got mine in Brooklyn for this past Saturday's performance. They distribute tickets at 1 pm and you usually only have to get there about 2 hours early. There's only one day left for that though; Friday, August 24th at Aaron Davis Hall (Harlem Stage at The Gatehouse) 150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street. Since its in Manhattan you might wanna try to get there around 9 or 10 to be safe.

Although there were a few imperfections that stood out in this production, I enjoyed the performances overall. I definitely laughed a lot, especially at the "Pyramis and Thisby" section(with the exception of the actor playing the Wall, who I felt was a little too Jack Black for Shakespeare), and Jesse Tyler Ferguson definitely stole all his scenes :) I also loved Martha Plimpton as Helena; Mirielle Enos was alright as Hermia...she was a bit flat in the first couple of scenes but warmed up later...though I still felt more like I was watching a college student rather than a seasoned actor during her scenes. I also loved Laila Robins as Titania. The fairies were a bit creepy...they looked like dead children. Chelsea Bacon as first faerie however was awesome...she had a whole aerial bit that was really neat. For the most part, the costumes were really good, with the exception of Oberon and Puck...they both looked like birthday party magicians. Also, the singing. The faeries can get away with singing; but why Puck's closing monologue was turned into a song was far beyond me. I was very perplexed by the last 5 minutes of the play being turned into a musical. Why??? I hope they change this before officially opening.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 8/22/07 at 2:51pm

I was there last Wednesday and even getting in line at 11 (later than we'd hoped), we managed to get some of the first standby tickets. I'm sure that it varies quite a bit by day of the week.

[sidjones09]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 12:30pm

Saw it Wednesday night, last performance before Opening Night. I thought it was wonderful.

The direction was excellent, especially of the 4 way fight between Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius and also the Play within the Play. Martha Plimpton WAS the highlight as Helena, incredible, but everyone else was great. I can see someone's point about Mireille Enos (Hermia) warming up in her first scene, but other than that I thought she was fantastic, I also really enjoyed her in 'Virginia Woolf'. The six actors led by Jay O'Sanders(Bottom) were showstoppingly brilliant. Jesse Tyler Ferguson definitely milked every moment he had, but he was hilarious.

As much as I enjoyed this production, I also did not get the musical ending. It just took me out of the play. I'm sitting there thinking,"Oh, now we're going to have a Musical Finale?" If there had been some singing throughout the production, a la 'Mother Courage' last summer, it wouldn't have been as jarring. But since we don't have much singing prior to the Finale, it just struck me as odd. But overall, the play is extremely well done, and I encourage anyone who can, to go see it. I got in line at 6:30AM on Wednesday morning and was Second Row Center. Doesn't get much better than that. My back is still recovering though.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 12:54pm

I saw this show last night and I was very disappointed. If ever there was a magical show, it is A Midsummer Night's Dream. But this production has no enchantment to its dream. It's what you would expect from a college on a limited budget. There is no magic to the show at all.

The best performances were Martha Plimpton, Jay Sanders, Laila Robins and the children. I felt that many of the actors were doing exactly what the director told them to do and not internalizing any of it. The play within a play was OK, but nothing original to it. That material is comedy gold and played correctly should have the audience laughing so hard they are in tears. It's like they read production notes from another production and followed them to the letter.

Jon Michael Hill was boring as Puck. There was no playfulness at all. No sense of mischief. He did a few weak magic tricks but he never was able to bring any excitement to the role.

Overall, I felt it was a boring Midsummer Night without the Dream.

[gustof777]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 1:18pm

slightly off topic but how great does Plimpton look in the opening night pictures? I love her! I can't wait to see the show!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/24/07 at 7:08pm

I went on opening night and got seats after sitting in line around 10 am.

Am I nuts or is this just not that great? Not horrible, but terribly lacking in personality and originality. All of the cast did a solid job but there was a definite lack of inspiration to the whole thing. Only Jesse Tyler Ferguson really brought something striking to his characterization and line readings. In the plum role of Helena, the divine Martha Plimpton did fine but dropped the ends of a lot of her lines. It was so strange to see a talent like Tim Blake Nelson cast as Peter Quince and then have him barely register. It could have had anyone in that role! Nobody seemed to be slumming it, for sure, but there was just nothing in the performances or production that surprised me terribly.

The same week I also saw IPHEGENIA 2.0 at the Signature which is flawed but very energetic and entertaining. Definitely worth the $20.