Reviewed by Michele Markarian
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare. Directed by Steven Maler. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Boston Common through August 9, 2026.
Is there a Shakespeare play better suited to the great outdoors than Midsummer? If you don’t know the answer, get down to the Boston Common before it’s too late and let yourself be enchanted by this dream of a production. Deftly directed by Steven Maler against Amy Rubin’s scenic design and Maxim Grano De Oro’s lighting design, with a groovy score by David Reiffel, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream hits all the right notes.
Egeus (Brooks Reeves, also doubling as Robin Starveling) wishes for his daughter Hermia (Meghan Carey) to marry his pick, Demetrius (Jack Greenburg) even though Hermia loves and wishes to wed Lysander (Jaime-Jose Hernandez). Hermia’s friend Helena (Annika Burley) is in love with the cruel Demetrius, who, after courting her, jilts her for Hermia. Hermia and Lysander decide to meet in the forest and run away to Athens, where they will wed.
In the forest, the fairy king, Oberon (De’Lon Grant) and Titania, the fairy queen (Nora Eschenheimer) are squabbling over Oberon’s possessiveness. To indulge himself and his sense of humor, Oberon instructs the fairy Puck (Nick Cearley) to put a magic potion on the sleeping Hippolyta which would cause her to fall in love with the first creature she sees upon awakening. Puck mistakenly puts the potion first on the sleeping Lysander and then on Demetrius, who both see and pursue Helena as they wake, much to her distrust and Hermia’s distress. Puck then doses Hippolita, who opens her eyes to fall in love with Nick Bottom (Paul Melendy), an Athenian mechanical in town to put on a play with his troop, headed by Petra Quince (Karen MacDonald). Puck, to his own amusement, has fitted Bottom with an ass’s head.
The cast is excellent, with a funhouse of a set to play in. Ramps, ladders, slides and a ballpen give the actors plenty of space to frolic in, complete with large, glowing pink hearts. Costumes are aglow with lights; when Oberon wishes to make himself invisible, his cape lights dim. Musical numbers pulsate throughout, which make use of the prolific vocal talents, particularly Grant’s, whose powerful voice is mesmerizing.
Eschenheimer is alternately dignified as Hippolyta and sybaritic as Titania, her chemistry strong with both Grant and Melendy, whose Bottom can’t quite believe his good luck. Cearley’s Puck is both earthy and intelligent. Even as Oberon’s servant, he is his own spirit boss, mischievous and cunning. Hernandez is terrific as Lysander, yearning fiercely, a nice contrast to Greenburg’s more diffident Demetrius. Burley is moving as Helena who moves from self-abasement to jubilation as she realizes she is loved. The mechanicals, led fiercely by MacDonald, sporting a Romanian accent, are genuinely funny. Throughout, there’s some clever ad-libbing, particularly from Melendy and Cearley.
As the spells and couples get righted – Demetrius with Helena, Lysander with Hermia, Theseus/Oberon with Hippolyta/Titania, the lovers are treated to a comical rendition of “Pyramus and Thisbe” by the mechanicals before the show ends in a flurry of glowing fairies. It’s a gorgeous celebration, befitting of the 30th anniversary of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. There’s a Hair/”Summer of Love” vibe throughout, which I found soothing and stimulating at the same time. What better way to tune out the noise of the headlines than to sit under the stars and witness a tale of love and lust against a luminous and dynamic backdrop? “I’d see that again,” declared a woman sitting in front of me during the curtain call. Happy Anniversary, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Thank you for the past thirty years. Can’t wait to see what you will bring to life on the Common next summer.
