BWW Reviews: ARB's A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Preview at Hamilton Stage in Rahway

What is left of Shakespeare, if you take away his words? A lot more than you might think, as the American Repertory Ballet (ARB) proved with their recent, delightfully kinetic take on the Bard's own A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Choreographed by ARB's artistic director Douglas Martin, the ballet enjoyed a recent preview performance at the Hamilton Stage of Union County Performing Arts Center (UC PAC) on Friday, 10/17.

Devotees of the original comedy may notice a few modifications: most notably, the famous "play within a play" that rounds out Shakespeare's script has been omitted here. No matter--the wealth of humor and earnest sentiment in the Martin version captures Shakespeare's own mood, and should set purists at ease.

Feuding lovers, doltish tradesmen, and endearing woodland fairies are the roles that have been taken on by ARB dancers. And it is heartening to see that Martin and his principals have made every role, every sequence count; in fact, they have even addressed and improved upon a few of the weak points in Shakespeare's material. In many performances, the fairy king Oberon and his mate Titania are stately, place-holding, uninteresting characters--their moments of conflict much less memorable than the nuttiness all around them. Yet in the ARB Midsummer Night's Dream, Alexander Dutko and Karen Leslie Moscato perform these two parts with the right mixture of discipline, sensitivity, and mischief. Words or no words, Shakespeare's creations show through in fine form.

The ARB's preview of A Midsummer Night's Dream was an opportunity for metropolitan area audiences to enjoy the abundant talents of the renowned company. They will perform a full staging of the ballet in 2015 at The State Theatre in New Brunswick on February 26th and 27th and at the Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem Pennsylvania on March 6th.

The American Repertory Ballet continues its 2014-2015 season this Saturday, 10/25 at Raritan Valley Community College with A Night at the Ballet. The show will begin at 8:00 pm.

Tickets for all of the American Repertory Ballet's upcoming performances can be purchased by visiting their web site at www.americanrepertoryballet.org.

Photo Credit: Leighton Chen

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