Fall Play Review: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Photo courtesy: @granitebaytheatre
GBHS theatre posts fliers on Instagram and around the school to promote their fall play.
Granite Bay’s theater group presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream as their fall play this year. They took a creative choice of changing the original time period of the play (twelfth-century b.c.) to the 1920s and I had the chance to go and watch it on opening night.
The play was about 2 hours long and it followed four Athenians (Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius) run away to the forest only to have Puck, a fairy, make both of the boys fall in love with the same girl. They run through the forest pursuing each other while Puck helps his master play a trick on the fairy queen. But in the end, Puck reverses the magic, and the two couples reconcile and marry.
I arrived at the theater and was greeted with three girls walking around in 1920s themed dresses offering refreshments before the play started and again during intermission. My thirst was quenched with a coupe glass of sparkling cider and a playbill to read.
While I was looking for my seat I had the chance to walk freely on and around the set design before it started.
The geometrically shaped stage design allowed the audience to surround every side. It made it a lot more intimate, which I ended up liking a lot. You had characters running past you and interacting with the audience, adding humor to it.
I thought that all the costumes fit very well with the play. The dresses that the fairies wore took a newer look towards the present while the flapper dresses stayed more to the 1920s.
Intermission came a lot later than you would expect it. Leaving about 30 minutes left until the end of the show. It was also never announced, making it very awkward because the audience sat in silence and had no clue what to do. A missed que for a blackout caused the actors to lay there for the entirety of intermission, when they were supposed to come off the stage, but I say kudos for them staying in character while people walked around them.
Being that it was opening night, mistakes were obviously going to be made throughout the play, but that’s every first show.
I loved the show and can’t wait for the winter play and spring musical. I give the play a rating of 9/10.
Lauren is a senior and Photography/Social Media Editor. This is her second year on the Gazette staff.
Kaylene Wharff • Nov 17, 2022 at 11:52 am
I love this review. Being in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it was very cool to hear an outsiders opinion on the play. I like the comment you made about the fairy dresses, it was very appreciated.