A Midsummer Night's Dream (Public Theater)

"This resolutely upbeat Shakespeare in the Park production is so broad, you could drive an 18-wheeler through it...The performances are as bright and over-the-top as Clint Ramos’ costumes...After a while, Ashford’s efforts only bring diminishing returns...Nielsen looks uncomfortable with the language and over-relies on her usual bag of tricks...As diverse as this 'Midsummer' looks and sounds, it is uniform in tone, reducing the play to a one-note romp." Full Review

"The most fascinating, heartfelt, thoroughly entertaining attraction playing in New York this summer...The Public Theater and director deBessonet emphasize magic and mirth in this vibrant production...Adding to the enjoyment of an already great play are uniformly excellent performances from the cast...The physical comedy is cranked up to a ten...Two-and-a-half hours melt away like a particularly pleasant dream, one from which you feel slightly sad to wake." Full Review

“Who’d have thought that the Rude Mechanicals would rescue a floundering production…Whatever overall concept deBessonet had in mind for this production is lost in a muddle of performance styles…The antics of the lovers are all at odds...While the acting tends to sitcom style, none of it comes from the same sitcom…Unlike those self-conscious young lovers, the Rude Mechanicals never play to the audience or force a laugh." Full Review

"Huggable and kind-natured...Annaleigh Ashford, as Helena, offers a divinely funny portrait of romantic desperation—she works offbeat wonders on every line—and Shalita Grant’s Hermia slides memorably from pertness to fury...Clint Ramos’s fanciful costumes and Justin Levine’s brassy-funky ’70s-flavored score add to the swirl of pleasure. DeBessonet's production welcomes the spirits of community theater and theater community. You leave with a lovestruck smile." Full Review

"A delightfully frothy theatrical palate cleanser...Delivers loads of antic fun, even if there are times when the kitchen-sink approach borders on overkill...Shakespeare's convoluted story line...is rendered here with uncommon clarity. But while the performers prove highly adept with the poetical language, the action is as much physical as verbal...While not all of the performances are effective, the standouts in the ensemble provide ample compensation." Full Review

“A jazzy, sweet, altogether delightful staging of William Shakespeare’s 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream.' With storybook visuals, smart directorial touches, and a frisky, diverse ensemble, this ‘Dream’ is the sort of wonder-struck, bighearted spectacle Shakespeare in the Park was created for...DeBessonet has a terrific group of actors at her disposal…DeBessonet does a marvelous job conjuring and maintaining a sense of wonder and enchantment.” Full Review

"Ms. deBessonet has brought to the play the high spirits and communitarian pageantry that made her previous park outings...so embraceable....Unusually well cast, her production is full of sharply etched if sometimes unsubtle comic performances...What the production lacks in depth and subtlety it makes up for in clarity and swiftness...For all that, I missed the moments when, in some productions, Helena’s desperation lands a punch in the gut." Full Review

“An unexpectedly fresh production…In addition to this novel interpretation, deBessonet provides dazzlingly funny direction as the multiple plots play out on David Rockwell’s revolving pastoral set, perfectly suited to the park’s natural milieu. Add some spicy battle-of-the-sexes chemistry between Bhavesh Patel’s pompous Theseus and De’Adre Aziza’s sexy Hippolyta and you have the perfect 'Dream' for a midsummer night.” Full Review

"Burstein...more or less upstages everybody else...Ashford’s performance as Helena upstages the rest of the quartet of lovers...Maybe it would be more polite, perhaps even more accurate, to say these performers stand out, rather than that they upstage...All this talk of upstaging may give the wrong impression. 'Midsummer' in Central Park offers the kind of fun and free summer evening’s entertainment that the Public has been providing at the Delacorte for 56 summers." Full Review

"DeBessonet has all sorts of interesting ideas...I'd be lying if I said that all of this comes together in some intellectually coherent way--the production often feels blown this way, then that, willing to pursue all sorts of notions without a clear sense of how to put them together. And yet, what shouldn't work somehow does: this is a 'Midsummer' that, for all its laughter, is oddly, persuasively, wistful...I'm willing to bet that you'll feel thoroughly satisfied." Full Review

"Under Lear deBessonet’s superb direction, the mood is kept light and hilarity reigns. Modern expressions and deliveries heighten the entertainment, as does the physical comedy, especially from Ashford...The cast is uniformly excellent; Jeff Hiller mines the comic elements of Thisbe to great effect...The Public’s 'Midsummer' is crackling with humor. Credit first-rate acting and electric staging for a glorious night under the stars." Full Review

“While Lear deBessonet's colorful version may not fully capture the play's romantic lyricism or its magical allure, it largely makes up for those drawbacks in its infectious exuberance and joie de vivre…deBessonet stresses the play's comedic values over its poetic ones, but the payoff is inconsistent…too much of the humor is forced rather than organic…Clint Ramos's costumes run the gamut from the ordinary to the extraordinary…deBessonet elicits a clear story line and well-spoken language.” Full Review

"A bright and jubilant staging of the perennial romantic comedy...Except for a few distinct touches—older actors playing the fairies, a tree house containing a live band and ad-libs directed to the audience, to name a few—deBessonet’s production is relatively straightforward...This shifts the focus to the terrific performances of Phylicia Rashad, Danny Burstein, Kristine Nielsen, Shalita Grant and Annaleigh Ashford." Full Review

"The best, the most exhilarating free Shakespeare from the Public in a long time...It’s a troupe of equals, although there may be a first among them: Annaleigh Ashford, as the frantically lovelorn Helena...Perhaps second among equals is Danny Burstein...DeBessonet’s numerous jolly good notions are too many to list in their entirety, and why give them all away? But one of the best is casting senior-citizen thespians as Titania’s ubiquitous fairies and setting them free to cavort." Full Review

"Look for the delightfully adorable Ashford and Burstein to steal every scene and your hearts...For me, this production seemed a little unmagical and disjointed...The costumes look like they were badly sewn, with no color sense or time reference...Davies-Lashley provides lovely vocals, but they come out of nowhere...Also dances happen for no rhyme or reason. Just to watch Ashford and Burstein strut their stuff, it’s worth seeing this production." Full Review

"A high-spirited hodgepodge that glides along with just a few hiccups and so-so performances. At 2 3/4 hours, the show comes close to overstaying its welcome. But sustained laughter and amusement compensate...Ashford oozes hilarity from start to finish as the besotted Helena...Two more standouts are Danny Burstein, who serves up thick slices of ham as Nick Bottom...And Jeff Hiller, an ace comic actor makes a big impression in the small role of the artisan-actor Flute." Full Review

"As directed by Lear deBessonet, the production showcases a proclivity for slapstick humor, which mostly works in a funny charming manner. It has an identity problem, though, that doesn’t quite know what kind of show this lot is putting on...Lots of choices of casting and style are questionable, although brave for the most part, with some of the ideas working. And others don’t quite hit the sweet spot." Full Review

“Unseen for a decade at The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park, the new production of ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream,’ directed by Lear deBessonet, is lavish to the eye and ear. What it is not is funny, being very low on the laugh quotient. While the actors, including such Tony Award winners as Phylicia Rashad and Annaleigh Ashford and nominees De'Adre Aziza, Danny Burstein, Shalita Grant and Kristine Nielsen try very hard to tickle the funny bone, the results are in vain.” Full Review

"A joyful, crowd-pleasing Mardi Gras of a production...Even if some of the slapstick and mugging can seem a bit much at times, only a genuine curmudgeon or Shakespeare absolutist is likely to be able to resist the spell of this most gleeful of productions...All told, it's hard to imagine a more pleasing antidote to political malaise than this stellar production by the Public, a real treasure of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in an ideal setting." Full Review

"Often hilarious, ultimately touching, and consistently magical production of this beloved work...Like with many Shakespeare in the Park productions, there’s a certain amount of multi-cultural, gender-bending casting, but it rarely distracts here...While there’s not a weak performer in this large ensemble—including the inimitable Kristine Nielsen as a rather unusual Puck—perhaps the real star of the production is costume designer Clint Ramos...A 'Dream' you’ll never want to awaken from." Full Review

"This 'Dream' is just classic Delacorte eye candy. DeBessonet has assembled an enviable cast for a lush production of the multi-pronged Shakespeare comedy set in an enchanted forest...Nielsen’s fans will delight in her comically twitchy presence...The final wedding scene is a rousing affair with the Mechanicals performing to the Duke’s delight, and a string of festive bulbs raised behind the stage." Full Review

"Any director must helm all this with a clear point of view, however, or chaos ensues. Unfortunately, deBessonet apparently has none. The four factions bump against each other without cohesion...There are two unfathomable casting errors. The first is Nielsen as a leaden Robin Goodfellow...The second, nightshirt-wearing fairies ranging from 65-85 years old...Ashford is hit or miss as Helena...The usually fine Danny Burstein doesn’t seem to be having enough fun with the role." Full Review

“This production hit the target and far exceeded my expectations. This show pulls us out of our respective realities for a few hours and sends us away a bit lighter because we have laughed so freely – perhaps for the first time in a long while...This is what is so pleasing about this production: Every single person seems to be having a really good time. We can’t help but feel that tingle in the fronts of our faces as these actors drink each other in and we follow them on a trippy ride.” Full Review

“Perfectly enjoyable…The staging and acting are broad, which works fine for the comedy that lends itself to such a romp, especially in an outdoor setting…Ashford gives a striking performance, cutting up in broad fashion in showing off her unique talent. She is often hilarious. Another standout is the ever-reliable Burstein as weaver Nick Bottom…Whether playing parts large or small in the huge ensemble, the collection of cast members makes for a vital company that delivers convincingly.” Full Review

“Ashford brings goofy charm and a natural flair for physical comedy…Rashad offers a more languorous, though no less assured, portrayal of Titania…Burstein invests his role with unflagging pantomime energy. The rest of ‘the Mechanicals’ form a solid comic unit…Other performers often seem to be going through the motions…The songs seem gratuitous…DeBessonet nonetheless succeeds throughout in marshaling her sizable ensemble and creating an infectious air of merriment." Full Review