BWW Reviews: Oh, What A Night it Was at Slidell Little Theatre for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM!

If you look up the word "perfection" in the dictionary, after the actual definition, you'll see a picture... a teeny tiny little picture. Do you know who it's a picture of? William Shakespeare. Don't believe me? Go look it up. Did you see it? Ok... so maybe I lied about the picture of my pal Will being in the dictionary. But someone should seriously consider it, right? Hey, Webster, get on that! While we wait on Webster to do what's right by Will, I'd like to tell you about my experience at Slidell Little Theatre this past weekend for their very unique production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

Some of you readers out there are probably tired of hearing me say this, but I'm going to say it anyway because it's 100% true... Once again Slidell Little Theatre nails it with their gorgeous set design (I'm pointing at you, Larry Johnson Jr.). They hit this one out of the park, folks. When the show starts, the characters are in front of a black curtain with a seemingly simple set. But when we enter into the forest those curtains open up and reveal a beautiful, white floral ramp leading up to a crescent moon, complete with flowing chandeliers. I mean... wow! A whimsical design for a whimsical play! Just beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful... if all you've ever wanted out of life is to hear the words of Shakespeare roll naturally off of someone's tongue, look no further. Slidell Little Theatre has got your guy. World, please meet Robert Jahncke (Oberon). An actor who commands the stage with a gentle presence and a twinkle in his eye (let's be honest, he looks straight up mischievous), Jahncke takes arguably the most difficult style of language to perform and makes it seem like he's been speaking this way his whole life. Light-footed, witty, insightful, patient, and intelligent are words that I wouldn't necessarily associate with Oberon, but Jahncke certainly put his own spin on the character and I loved it.

Something that I wasn't expecting to see, or rather hear, in this production was music. More specifically... There were a couple of scenes where the fairies (so many adorable fairies) sang a melody, and I thought it was very sweet addition. But directly following intermission, we picked up where Nick Bottom (Gary Mendoza) was just waking up from his night with Titania (Jessica Stubbs) and he, along with the fairies, did a little dance to "Oh What A Night." I'm going to be completely honest here. My first reaction was to raise an eyebrow and to think, "Ok, what is going on right now? They realize we're watching A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and not JERSEY BOYS, right?" But then something happened. I started to giggle. And that's when I realized, you know what... I can be as traditionalist as I want when it comes to Shakespeare, but if I'm sitting in the audience and someone makes me laugh, they've done their job.

It was completely evident that, aside from putting on a good production, this cast had fun. They had fun! And that's what live theatre's all about, am I right? So... If you're the Shakespeare-loving kind of person, or heck even if you're not the Shakespeare-loving kind of person, this show offers exposure to one of the greatest playwrights of all time as well as a night of some solid entertainment. Make sure to reserve your tickets with the box office soon as the show closes on February 1.

Article may also be viewed here: http://www.nolabackstage.com/#!BWW-Reviews-Oh-What-A-Night-it-Was-at-Slidell-Little-Theatre-for-A-MIDSUMMER-NIGHTS-DREAM/ckwv/D310F49F-EAE4-4F00-8875-F5ACD1EC0E01

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