Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” takes full advantage of the intimate confines of the Mosesian Center of the Arts to provide audience members with a 360 degree experience of music, lights, confetti, and mist to accompany the Bard’s ethereal play.
“Midsummer” is the final play in Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s 2024-25 season, and the first in its new home. The theater company recently moved to the MCA in Watertown to be the company in residence. The play runs through May 4.
Director Maurice Emmanuel Parent said that the play is a respite to the stresses of today’s every day world in an interview with WBUR.
“We need joy. We need to feel hopeful and connected to community,” Parent told WBUR. “Sometimes, when life gets too challenging or times get hopeless, joy is an act of resistance.”
ASP’s “Midsummer” keeps Shakespeare’s language, but sets the action in modern day, complete with a dreamscape inside a dance club with thumping music and bright colors — and Alan Kuang’s dance moves (as Puck) thrilled the crowd. Actors come from all directions during the play, including making use of the aisles, and the scaffolding that loom over the first few rows of the theater.
One of the attendees of Sunday’s show summed up the experience, saying “Wasn’t that fun?”
The cast includes performers who audiences may recognize from regional productions, or even television, as well as newcomers.
Michael Broadhurst, who plays Lysander, has credits that includes HBO’s “Succession.” De’Lon Grant (Demetrius) appeared on Broadway in “Come From Away,” and was on the National tour of “Jersey Boys.” And, Deb Martin (Helena) was in the second National Tour of “Victor/Victoria,” and was part of the cast of the film “Spartan” along with Val Kilmer and William H. Macy.
Eliza Fichter (Hippolyta/Titania) will be familiar to some in Watertown. She was the artist-in-residence at Mount Auburn Cemetery in 2023, and appeared in the “Midwinter Revels: Feast of Fools” in Cambridge in 2023. Thomika Marie Bridwell (Hermia) appeared in The Huntington’s “Joy and Pandemic,” and “Miss You Like Hell” (Company One/A.R.T.). Doug Lockwood (Bottom) appeared in the New Rep Theatre’s production of “The Waverly Gallery.”
Making her ASP debut is Mia Giatrelis (Fairy/Dance Captain), a junior at Tufts University who is studying Cognitive Brain Science and Civic Studies with minors in both Theatre and Dance.
ASP provided the following content warning:
- This production contains adult situations, implied drug use, sexual innuendo, suggestive costumes, and a whole ton of crazy fun fairy magic. In other words, it’s what you should expect from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We recommend that parents consider if this production is appropriate for children under 13.
- This performance employs hazers that use Ultratec Luminous 7, a water-based fluid.
The show runs 1:40 with no intermission. Tickets are $64-$74, with limited seating starting at $20. Student tickets are $25, available for any patron ages 25 and under. For more information, visit www.ActorsShakespeareProject.org.