Madcap enchantment and revelry abound in Summer Stage’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Madcap enchantment and revelry abound in Summer Stage’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Director Dustin J. Martin’s spin on the tale plays with the narrative’s play-within-a-play technique to present a charmingly transportive production that is as much about the high-minded nature of dramatic potential as it is a nimble farce full of bewitched lovers, vengeful fairies, and donkey-headed amateur actors.

In a play well regarded as Shakespeare’s funniest, laughs aren’t hard to come by. That’s especially true because of Nicholas Callan Haubner’s performance as the bombastic and guileless Bottom the Weaver. As the quintessential clown, Haubner’s physicality and assured delivery guarantees laughs out of even the quickest turns of phrase. William Kastner, in the roles of Flute/Cobweb, also delivers delightful performances, fearlessly leaning into the silly slapstick at the play’s climax. Sydney Faris gives a particularly stellar performance as the heart-sick and jilted Helena, elevating her character’s soppy unrequited love into something that feels remarkably modern and familiar.

Indeed, the worlds encompassed within A Midsummer Night’s Dream feel, unsurprisingly, uncanny yet beguilingly familiar. Here, the magical and mythic worlds of fairy queens and enchanted lovers intersect with the topsy-turvy, carnival shenanigans of a play-within-a-play and you can’t help but be spellbound by it. On that stage, beneath the wide expanse of a real-life star-flecked sky, there’s a magic at work and it is well worth seeing.

Info:

Runtime: Two hours and 25 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission

SummerStage of Delafield performs A Midsummer Night’s Dream through Saturday, July 30 at Lapham Peak, W329 N846 County Highway C, Delafield, WI 53018

For tickets and info, visit https://summerstageofdelafield.org or contact the box office at (262) 337-1560