A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Potions, Poetry & the Power of Dreams

A Theater Review by Julinda D. Lewis

Presented by: Richmond Shakespeare

Performances: June 19 – July 20, 2025 [Extended to July 27!]

At: Agecroft Hall, 4305 Sulgrave Rd., RVA 23221

Ticket Prices: $22-$47 [Adults $47; Seniors 65+ with ID $42; Military with ID $32; College Students with ID $27 & Children 18 and under $22] Seating is General Admission.

Info: (804) 340-0115 or http://www.richmondshakespeare.org

Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream in around 1595 or 1596. Here we are in 2025, watching Shakespeare’s sixteenth century comedy about people in Ancient Greece (c. 12^th century) being performed by a cast of characters in 1950’s attire. Now that, my friend, is the definition of timeless. [NOTE: A brief synopsis of the play is provided at the end of this reflection.]

As Director James Ricks notes in the Midsummer program, the play was most likely originally performed in an outdoor venue where, much like at Agecroft Hall, the close proximity of audience and actors created a uniquely intimate dynamic. “Here,” Ricks wrote, “we have assembled to ‘rehearse most obscenely and courageously,’ employing Shakespeare’s original practices with a touch of modern technology.”

Lysander (Erich Appleby) slouches onstage looking like he’s auditioning for a role as “the Fonz” in Happy Days and Demetrius (Gordon Graham) shows up wearing his preppy letterman sweater. Hermia (Erin Chaves) wears pink pedal pushers, completing the 1950’s casual couture look, while Hermia’s father, Egeus (Erica Hughes) inexplicably sports the wide-brimmed hat and accent of a landed southern planter. Theseus, the Duke of Athens (Arik Cullen) cautions Hermia in his best Shakespearean intonation to “fit your fancies to your father’s will,” while Bottom (James Ricks), channels Marlon Brandon c.1954 spouting, “I could’a been a contender!”  

And did I mention the doo-wop songs? OMG there were doo wop songs sung by proper quartets with outstanding harmony offering such classics as “In the Still of the Night,” “At Last,” and “A Sunday Kind of Love.” A Midsummer Night’s Dream was filled with one surprise after another – all good – starting when I opened my program and saw that Richmond Shakespeare’s Artistic Director James Ricks had cast himself in the role of Bottom.

What bold choices. What unlikely pairings. What a brilliant production! This is a true ensemble, with nearly every actor getting a chance to shine. Let’s take a look:

Erick Appleby’s insouciance as Lysander, one of the two young male love interests, early on set a tone and laid a foundation for what to expect going forward. Erin Chaves, in the role of Lysander’s beloved Hermia, seems always on the verge of being the mean girl, but it’s obvious she’s got “home training” – as who wouldn’t with an over-bearing parent like Egeus (more about Erica Hughes in just a moment). Gordon Graham as Demetrius was the nerdy guy most likely to be approved by the parents, I almost felt sorry for him under the pressure of hot pursuit by the love-struck Helena, played with over-the-top angst by Paisley LoBue.

Arik Cullen was regal as Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and almost villainous as Oberon, the King of the Fairies and husband of the Fairy Queen Titania, with whom he is at odds. Jianna Hurt doesn’t have much to do as Theseus’ fiancée Hippolyta but makes up for it in her role as Titania where she gets to be beautiful, independent, and inadvertently funny (when she awakens to fall in love with a donkey) – and also gets to sing her heart out.

Erica Hughes, whose mastery of dialects I have long admired, played Egeus as a domineering parent with a southern accent, but it was as Quince, the leader of the mechanicals – a group of laborers (e.g., a baker, a weaver, a carpenter, etc.) who moonlight as incredibly inept actors whose goal is to perform the play-within-a-play Pyramus and Thisbe for the royal wedding program of Theseus and Hippolyta that she really shines. It is as part of this group that James Ricks has brilliantly inserted himself as Bottom, an overly confident weaver who enthusiastically volunteers to play every part in the play. Ricks turns what might otherwise have been a minor character into a highlight of every scene he tackled.

The ensemble-within-the-ensemble, who played the mechanicals as well as Titania’s fairy court included Alex Godschalk, Enrique Gonzalez, Elle Meerovich, Toby O’Brien, and Abe Timm. Meerovich also served as the play’s Music Director (the main play, that is, not the play-within-the-play) and got to lead at least one song – of course – but also made a lasting impression as The Wall in Pyramus and Thisbe – an intentionally bad parody of a Shakespeare play.

I did not forget about Puck – the mischievous assistant to Oberon whose hurried and impish nature leads to a mistake that sets in motion an epic series of misadventures. Abe Timm (he/she/them) is the most delightful, most energetic Puck I’ve ever seen, and I have seen a few – in both play and ballet form. (And I must confess, the last time I saw a Richmond Shakespeare production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream I was wholly partial because the role was played by Raven Lorraine, who was once a Brownie Girl Scout in the troop I led…)

But to get back to this production, this represents some of James Ricks’ finest work – both as director and as actor. The musical direction by Meerovich added delightfully unexpected and highly satisfying 1950’s harmony and the choreography by Starrene Foster wasn’t so much dance phrases as organic movement designed to keep everyone and everything flowing in one accord.

What more can be said about this production…other than this is what theater was meant to be.

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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself and occasionally gets to perform.

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A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by James Ricks

CAST

Lysander                               …..      Erich Appleby

Hermia                                   …..      Erin Chaves

Oberon/Theseus                 …..      Arik Cullen

Attendant/Fairy                   …..      Kara Finnegan

Starveling/Mustardseed    …..      Alex Godschalk

Flute/Peasblossom             …..      Enrique Gonzalez

Demetrius                             …..      Gordon Graham

Quince/Egeus          .           …..      Erica Hughes

Titania/Hippolyta                …..      Jianna Hurt

Helena                                   …..      Paisley LoBue

Snout/Moth                          …..      Elle Meerovich

Snug/Cobweb                     …..      Toby O’Brien

Bottom                                  …..      James Ricks

Puck/Philostrate                  …..      Abe Timm

PRODUCTION TEAM

Artistic Director/Bottom/

            Director/Production

            Management/

            Scenic Design/

            Sound Design          …..      James Ricks

Managing Director             …..      Jase Smith Sullivan

Production Manager/

Stage Manager        …..      Nata Moriconi

Assistant Stage Manager/

Props Design            …..      Jordan Dively

Assistant Stage Manager   …..      Kathleen Acree

Costume Design                  …..      Anna Bialkowski

Lighting Design                   …..      Griffin Hardy

Choreographer                   …..      Starrene Foster

Music Director/Arranger   …..      Elle Meerovich

Intimacy Director                 …..      Dorothy “Dee D.” Miller

Assistant Director                …..      Andrew Gall

Run Time: About 2 hours 30 minutes; there is one intermission

Setting: Ancient Athens and the nearby forest, approximately 12^th Century B.C.

Photo Credits: Aaron Sutten; Richmond Shakespeare Website & Facebook page

A Brief Synopsis of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedic play by William Shakespeare that intertwines the lives of four young Athenian lovers—Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius—with a group of mischievous fairies and a troupe of amateur actors. The play is set in the mystical woods outside of Athens, where magic and whimsy reign.

The story begins with Hermia, who is in love with Lysander, but her father Egeus insists she marries Demetrius, who is in love with her. Disregarding her father’s wishes, Hermia flees with Lysander into the forest, followed by Helena, who harbors unrequited feelings for Demetrius. In the enchanted woods, the fairy king Oberon and his queen Titania are embroiled in their own domestic quarrel, leading Oberon to seek revenge using a magical flower that causes love at first sight.

As Oberon instructs his mischievous servant Puck to apply the potion to Titania and to Demetrius so he will fall in love with Helena, chaos ensues. Mistaken identities and unintentional enchantments result in a tangled web of romantic confusion among four young lovers. Meanwhile, a group of amateur actors, led by the bumbling Bottom, unknowingly becomes part of the fairy mischief, resulting in humorous transformations and antics.

Ultimately, love prevails as the magic wears off, misunderstandings are resolved, and the couples reunite correctly. The play concludes with the characters returning to Athens, ready to celebrate their marriages, and Puck delivers a final monologue inviting the audience to view the events as a dream. Shakespeare’s exploration of love, fantasy, and reality culminates in a lively and whimsical tapestry that highlights the folly and joy of human emotion.

[This synopsis was generated with the assistance of AI.]