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NY Around Town , Theatre , Video , A Midsummer Night's Dream , Bebe Neuwirth , Classic
Stage Company , William Shakespeare , Culture NewsReact
Amazing Inspiring Funny Scary Hot Crazy Important WeirdTheater: Bebe Neuwirth Still Looks
Dreamy in "Midsummer"
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM ** 1/2 out of
****
CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY
The Classic Stage Company's production of
Shakespeare's bauble A Midsummer Night's Dream has
an eye-catching set and an eye-catching cast in various
stages of undress. If you've ever wanted to see an Abercrombie & Fitch model recite verse in theirunderwear (and who hasn't?), this is the show for you. Run and catch it before it closes on May 20. Butthe visage you're most likely to remember is that of the lithe and self-assured Bebe Neuwirth,
commanding both physically and theatrically in dual roles as the fairy queen Titania and the slightly
morose Hippolyta. She moves with grace and speaks her lines with authority, matched moment to
moment by Anthony Heald's Oberon/Theseus (a very lucky man, indeed).
I'd say Neuwirth is sexy despite the costumes of Andrea Lauer. Shakespeare's tale of young lovers put at
cross purposes by a mischief-making Puck (an over-exuberant Taylor Mac) is certainly one that
encourages a free spirit in all areas. But her costumes are a little broad and jokey for my taste, even in
this context. Still, Neuwirth looks wonderful, even in a silly leather dominatrix outfit.
I certainly won't fault Lauer for stripping the lovers down to their smalls. It's a good way of distracting us
from the fact that Christina Ricci, Nick Gehlfuss, Jordan Dean and Halley Wegryn Gross are all more
confident cavorting about than turning the verse of Shakespeare into natural-seeming dialogue.MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
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August 29, 2012
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Posted: 05/14/2012 1:54 pm
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That's presumably why director Tony Speciale has them bouncing about and wrestling and tackling and
tumbling over one another throughout the long night where lover after lover is bewitched into switching
their passion. Equally broad are the rude mechanicals, the local buffoons led by Nick Bottom (Steven
Skybell) who simply want to rehearse their woebegone play in the woods, only to have Bottom turned
into an ass and become the paramour of Titania.
This is not a production for insight but it is handsomely mounted. The set design by Mark Wendland is
especially striking. It features a wall of mirrors tilting gently over the stage and beautiful touches like a
shower of flower petals that also became amusingly bounteous at one point. The lighting and sound by
Tyler Micoleau and M. Florian Staab worked together seamlessly to create the pastoral magic this workcalls for.
A special round of applause for the music of Christian Frederickson and Ryan Rumery. Songs are
peppered throughout the play and I've rarely heard them given such beautiful musical settings or sung so
well as they are here. (On a similar note, Jordan Dean has a very amusing running gag as Demetrius
where he delivers some of his lines in a quavering, r&b crooner style; a goofily funny touch that wasn't
overdone.) When it sings, this Midsummer soars, but even at its most earth-bound it's an amiable night
of theater.
The Theater Season 2011-2012 (on a four-star scale)
The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs ** 1/2
All-American **
All's Well That Ends Well/Shakespeare in the Park **
Assistance **
The Atmosphere Of Memory 1/2 *
Blood Knot at Signature **
Bob *** 1/2
Bonnie & Clyde feature profile of Jeremy Jordan
Broadway By The Year: 1950 ** 1/2
Broadway By The Year: 1997 ** 1/2
Carrie ** 1/2
The Cherry Orchard with Dianne Wiest **
Chinglish * 1/2
Close Up Space *
Clybourne Park *** 1/2
Crane Story **
Cymbeline at Barrow Street Theatre ***
Damn Yankees **
Death Of A Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman ** 1/2
Dedalus Lounge * 1/2
Early Plays (Eugene O'Neill at St. Ann's Warehouse) *
End Of The Rainbow *
Ernani at Met w Angela Meade *** 1/2
An Evening With Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin ***
Evita * 1/2
Follies *** 1/2
Fragments ***
Galileo with F. Murray Abraham **
The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess *** 1/2
Ghost The Musical * 1/2
Godspell ** 1/2
Goodbar * 1/2
Gore Vidal's The Best Man ** 1/2
Hair ***
Hand To God ***
Hero: The Musical * 1/2
How The World Began * 1/2
Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway ***
Hurt Village ***Irving Berlin's White Christmas ***
It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later *** 1/2
Jesus Christ Superstar * 1/2
King Lear at Public with Sam Waterston **
Krapp's Last Tape with John Hurt ***
The Lady From Dubuque ** 1/2Lake Water **
Leap Of Faith **
Leo ***
Love's Labor's Lost at the PublicLab ** 1/2
The Lyons ** 1/2
Lysistrata Jones *
Magic/Bird *
The Maids **
Man And Boy * 1/2
The Man Who Came To Dinner **
Maple And Vine **
Master Class w Tyne Daly ** 1/2
Measure For Measure/Shakespeare in the Park ***HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 2
HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2
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RetweetMake Room for (the New) Daddy
http://t.co/Q6eIDokm via
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feliciaday
RetweetThink on it: Cambridge scientists
say all mammals, birds, many
others including octopi, have
human-like consciousness.
http://t.co/aF6W2ZQh
Milk Like Sugar ***
Mission Drift * 1/2
Misterman ** 1/2
The Mountaintop ** 1/2
Newsies at Papermill **
Newsies On Broadway ** 1/2
Nice Work If You Can Get It **
Ninth And Joanie *
No Place To Go ** 1/2
Now. Here. This. * 1/2
Olive and The Bitter Herbs ** 1/2
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever * 1/2
Once *** 1/2
Once on Broadway ****
One Arm ***
One Man, Two Guvnors on Broadway ***
Other Desert Cities on Broadway ** 1/2
Painting Churches * 1/2
Peter And The Starcatcher *** 1/2
Pigpen's The Nightmare Story *** 1/2
Private Lives **
Queen Of The Mist ** 1/2
Radio City Christmas Spectacular ** 1/2
Regrets * 1/2
Relatively Speaking * 1/2
Richard III w Kevin Spacey at BAM ***
The Road To Mecca ** 1/2
Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History Of The Robot War ** 1/2
The Select (The Sun Also Rises) ** 1/2
Seminar **
Septimus & Clarissa *** 1/2
Shlemiel The First ** 1/2
Silence! The Musical * 1/2
69 Degrees South * 1/2
Song From The Uproar **
Sons Of The Prophet *** 1/2
Sontag: Reborn *
A Streetcar Named Desire with Nicole Ari Parker **
Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark * 1/2
Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays **
Stick Fly **
A Streetcar Named Desire **
The Submission **
Super Night Shot ** 1/2
Sweet and Sad **
The Table ** 1/2
Titus Andronicus at Public with Jay O. Sanders * 1/2
Tribes *** 1/2
The Ugly One **
Unnatural Acts ***
Venus In Fur ***
We Live Here **
Wild Animals You Should Know ** 1/2
Wit ** 1/2
Zarkana **
NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL 2011
Blanche: The Bittersweet Life Of A Wild Prairie Dame *** 1/2
Central Avenue Breakdown ** 1/2
Crazy, Just Like Me ***
Cyclops: A Rock Opera *
Ennio: The Living Paper Cartoon ** 1/2
F---ing Hipsters **
Ghostlight **
Gotta Getta Girl ** 1/2 for staged reading
Greenwood *
Jack Perry Is Alive (And Dating) * 1/2
Kiki Baby ** 1/2
Kissless * 1/2
Madame X **
The Pigeon Boys ***
Time Between Us * 1/2
Tut **
FRINGEFEST NYC 2011Araby *
The Bardy Bunch **
Books On Tape ** 1/2
FOLLOW CULTURE
Civilian **
Hard Travelin' With Woody ***
Leonard Cohen Koans *** 1/2
The More Loving One **
The Mountain Song *** 1/2
Paper Cuts ***
Parker & Dizzy's Fabulous Journey To The End Of The Rainbow ** 1/2
Pearl's Gone Blue ***
Rachel Calof ** 1/2
Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending **
2 Burn * 1/2
Walls and Bridges **
What The Sparrow Said ** 1/2
Yeast Nation ***
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and alsoavailable for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understanding that he will be
writing a review.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
08:10 AM on 05/15/2012
Well...... a picture of Bebe would have been nice.
02:53 PM on 05/15/2012
I agree! They didn't post any video with Neuwirth in it so I had none to share, I'm afraid.
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127 Fans
Featuring fresh takes and real-time analysis from
HuffPost's signature lineup of contributors
Michael Giltz
Freelance writerGET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ
Follow
NY Around Town , Theatre , Video , A Midsummer Night's Dream , Bebe Neuwirth , Classic
Stage Company , William Shakespeare , Culture NewsReact
Amazing Inspiring Funny Scary Hot Crazy Important WeirdTheater: Bebe Neuwirth Still Looks
Dreamy in "Midsummer"
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM ** 1/2 out of
****
CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY
The Classic Stage Company's production of
Shakespeare's bauble A Midsummer Night's Dream has
an eye-catching set and an eye-catching cast in various
stages of undress. If you've ever wanted to see an Abercrombie & Fitch model recite verse in theirunderwear (and who hasn't?), this is the show for you. Run and catch it before it closes on May 20. Butthe visage you're most likely to remember is that of the lithe and self-assured Bebe Neuwirth,
commanding both physically and theatrically in dual roles as the fairy queen Titania and the slightly
morose Hippolyta. She moves with grace and speaks her lines with authority, matched moment to
moment by Anthony Heald's Oberon/Theseus (a very lucky man, indeed).
I'd say Neuwirth is sexy despite the costumes of Andrea Lauer. Shakespeare's tale of young lovers put at
cross purposes by a mischief-making Puck (an over-exuberant Taylor Mac) is certainly one that
encourages a free spirit in all areas. But her costumes are a little broad and jokey for my taste, even in
this context. Still, Neuwirth looks wonderful, even in a silly leather dominatrix outfit.
I certainly won't fault Lauer for stripping the lovers down to their smalls. It's a good way of distracting us
from the fact that Christina Ricci, Nick Gehlfuss, Jordan Dean and Halley Wegryn Gross are all more
confident cavorting about than turning the verse of Shakespeare into natural-seeming dialogue.MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
MAP: Hurricane Isaac's Path
Aims For Gulf Coast
Limbaugh's Wild Isaac
Conspiracy
Isaac Balloons Into A
Hurricane, New Orleans
Threatened
Republican Attendees Thrown
Out After Racist Attack On
CNN Worker
RPatz Agrees To Meet KStew
But Is Selling Their Home
Chipotle Busted For Cheating
Customers Out Of Pennies
Deaf Boy Asked To Make
Controversial Change (VIDEO)
GOP Approves Abortion Ban
PHOTO: The Queen Rolls In A
Range Rover Wearing A
Hoodie
DON'T MISS HUFFPOST BLOGGERS 1 of 5
Bill Moyers
WATCH: Both Parties Give
Invisible Americans the Silent
Treatment
Dean Baker
Poverty: The New Growth Industry
in AmericaFOLLOW USArts Books Film Architecture Music TV
August 29, 2012
Edition: U.S.
FRONT PAGE POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA ARTS TV BLACK VOICES LATINO VOICES RELIGION COMEDY LIVE ALL SECTIONS
Bill Moyers Dean Baker
John Hillcoat Bobby BowdenHOT ON THE BLOG
HuffPost Social Reading
Like 102
Posted: 05/14/2012 1:54 pm
SHARE THIS STORY
Submit this storyRecommend 259
Like 7k
Recommend 681
Like 8k
Like 49
Like 535
Like 3k
Recommend 8k
Like 1kMore Log in Create Account
That's presumably why director Tony Speciale has them bouncing about and wrestling and tackling and
tumbling over one another throughout the long night where lover after lover is bewitched into switching
their passion. Equally broad are the rude mechanicals, the local buffoons led by Nick Bottom (Steven
Skybell) who simply want to rehearse their woebegone play in the woods, only to have Bottom turned
into an ass and become the paramour of Titania.
This is not a production for insight but it is handsomely mounted. The set design by Mark Wendland is
especially striking. It features a wall of mirrors tilting gently over the stage and beautiful touches like a
shower of flower petals that also became amusingly bounteous at one point. The lighting and sound by
Tyler Micoleau and M. Florian Staab worked together seamlessly to create the pastoral magic this workcalls for.
A special round of applause for the music of Christian Frederickson and Ryan Rumery. Songs are
peppered throughout the play and I've rarely heard them given such beautiful musical settings or sung so
well as they are here. (On a similar note, Jordan Dean has a very amusing running gag as Demetrius
where he delivers some of his lines in a quavering, r&b crooner style; a goofily funny touch that wasn't
overdone.) When it sings, this Midsummer soars, but even at its most earth-bound it's an amiable night
of theater.
The Theater Season 2011-2012 (on a four-star scale)
The Agony And The Ecstasy Of Steve Jobs ** 1/2
All-American **
All's Well That Ends Well/Shakespeare in the Park **
Assistance **
The Atmosphere Of Memory 1/2 *
Blood Knot at Signature **
Bob *** 1/2
Bonnie & Clyde feature profile of Jeremy Jordan
Broadway By The Year: 1950 ** 1/2
Broadway By The Year: 1997 ** 1/2
Carrie ** 1/2
The Cherry Orchard with Dianne Wiest **
Chinglish * 1/2
Close Up Space *
Clybourne Park *** 1/2
Crane Story **
Cymbeline at Barrow Street Theatre ***
Damn Yankees **
Death Of A Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman ** 1/2
Dedalus Lounge * 1/2
Early Plays (Eugene O'Neill at St. Ann's Warehouse) *
End Of The Rainbow *
Ernani at Met w Angela Meade *** 1/2
An Evening With Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin ***
Evita * 1/2
Follies *** 1/2
Fragments ***
Galileo with F. Murray Abraham **
The Gershwins' Porgy And Bess *** 1/2
Ghost The Musical * 1/2
Godspell ** 1/2
Goodbar * 1/2
Gore Vidal's The Best Man ** 1/2
Hair ***
Hand To God ***
Hero: The Musical * 1/2
How The World Began * 1/2
Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway ***
Hurt Village ***Irving Berlin's White Christmas ***
It's Always Right Now, Until It's Later *** 1/2
Jesus Christ Superstar * 1/2
King Lear at Public with Sam Waterston **
Krapp's Last Tape with John Hurt ***
The Lady From Dubuque ** 1/2Lake Water **
Leap Of Faith **
Leo ***
Love's Labor's Lost at the PublicLab ** 1/2
The Lyons ** 1/2
Lysistrata Jones *
Magic/Bird *
The Maids **
Man And Boy * 1/2
The Man Who Came To Dinner **
Maple And Vine **
Master Class w Tyne Daly ** 1/2
Measure For Measure/Shakespeare in the Park ***HOT ON FACEBOOK 1 of 2
HOT ON TWITTER 1 of 2
HUFFPOST'S BIG NEWS PAGES
Celebrity
babies
Latino Politics
Natural
Disasters
Unemployment
Miranda Kerr
Anthony
Weiner
Meditation
Student
Activism
MORE BIG NEWS PAGES »
Slate Articles »Death, Explained
Did You See This?
The Real Lebowski
Stream the New
Album From JensLekman
10 Plays That Protest
Power
Azealia Banks Smokes A
Condom, Gets Banned
ricky_martin
RetweetMake Room for (the New) Daddy
http://t.co/Q6eIDokm via
@huffingtonpost
feliciaday
RetweetThink on it: Cambridge scientists
say all mammals, birds, many
others including octopi, have
human-like consciousness.
http://t.co/aF6W2ZQh
Milk Like Sugar ***
Mission Drift * 1/2
Misterman ** 1/2
The Mountaintop ** 1/2
Newsies at Papermill **
Newsies On Broadway ** 1/2
Nice Work If You Can Get It **
Ninth And Joanie *
No Place To Go ** 1/2
Now. Here. This. * 1/2
Olive and The Bitter Herbs ** 1/2
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever * 1/2
Once *** 1/2
Once on Broadway ****
One Arm ***
One Man, Two Guvnors on Broadway ***
Other Desert Cities on Broadway ** 1/2
Painting Churches * 1/2
Peter And The Starcatcher *** 1/2
Pigpen's The Nightmare Story *** 1/2
Private Lives **
Queen Of The Mist ** 1/2
Radio City Christmas Spectacular ** 1/2
Regrets * 1/2
Relatively Speaking * 1/2
Richard III w Kevin Spacey at BAM ***
The Road To Mecca ** 1/2
Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History Of The Robot War ** 1/2
The Select (The Sun Also Rises) ** 1/2
Seminar **
Septimus & Clarissa *** 1/2
Shlemiel The First ** 1/2
Silence! The Musical * 1/2
69 Degrees South * 1/2
Song From The Uproar **
Sons Of The Prophet *** 1/2
Sontag: Reborn *
A Streetcar Named Desire with Nicole Ari Parker **
Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark * 1/2
Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays **
Stick Fly **
A Streetcar Named Desire **
The Submission **
Super Night Shot ** 1/2
Sweet and Sad **
The Table ** 1/2
Titus Andronicus at Public with Jay O. Sanders * 1/2
Tribes *** 1/2
The Ugly One **
Unnatural Acts ***
Venus In Fur ***
We Live Here **
Wild Animals You Should Know ** 1/2
Wit ** 1/2
Zarkana **
NEW YORK MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL 2011
Blanche: The Bittersweet Life Of A Wild Prairie Dame *** 1/2
Central Avenue Breakdown ** 1/2
Crazy, Just Like Me ***
Cyclops: A Rock Opera *
Ennio: The Living Paper Cartoon ** 1/2
F---ing Hipsters **
Ghostlight **
Gotta Getta Girl ** 1/2 for staged reading
Greenwood *
Jack Perry Is Alive (And Dating) * 1/2
Kiki Baby ** 1/2
Kissless * 1/2
Madame X **
The Pigeon Boys ***
Time Between Us * 1/2
Tut **
FRINGEFEST NYC 2011Araby *
The Bardy Bunch **
Books On Tape ** 1/2
FOLLOW CULTURE
Civilian **
Hard Travelin' With Woody ***
Leonard Cohen Koans *** 1/2
The More Loving One **
The Mountain Song *** 1/2
Paper Cuts ***
Parker & Dizzy's Fabulous Journey To The End Of The Rainbow ** 1/2
Pearl's Gone Blue ***
Rachel Calof ** 1/2
Romeo & Juliet: Choose Your Own Ending **
2 Burn * 1/2
Walls and Bridges **
What The Sparrow Said ** 1/2
Yeast Nation ***
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox , a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and alsoavailable for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.
Note : Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understanding that he will be
writing a review.
Follow Michael Giltz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/michaelgiltz
08:10 AM on 05/15/2012
Well...... a picture of Bebe would have been nice.
02:53 PM on 05/15/2012
I agree! They didn't post any video with Neuwirth in it so I had none to share, I'm afraid.
Advertise | Make HuffPost your Home Page | RSS | Careers | FAQ
User Agreement | Privacy | Comment Policy | About Us | About Our Ads | Contact Us
Copyright © 2012 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. | "The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Part of AOL Lifestyle
Recency | Popularity
MARTYB
Permalink | Share it
HUFFPOST BLOGGER
Michael Giltz
freelance writer
Permalink | Share itLike 15k GET ALERTS
Comments 2 Pending Comments 0 View FAQ
Comments are closed for this entry
View All
247 Fans
127 Fans