On what seemed like its own magical evening, San Pedro Spring Park came buzzing to life with San Pedro Playhouse’s Shakespeare in the Park Festival. What a wonderful event! The trees were strung with lights, plenty of good food and drink awaited all the guests, and the atmosphere was electric. People were so excited to be out and enjoying the beautiful evening! As a highlight of this event, a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written and directed by Paco Farias, made its world premiere. It was the perfect setting for this new play, Midsummer Sueno.
What always makes for an effective adaptation of Shakespeare’s work is when the story can still be clearly told and understood in the midst of a new setting. Any time this is accomplished, true magic occurs because audiences can see and feel that the themes, relationships, and events from Shakespeare’s classic work are the same ones felt in all times and places. They are truly timeless. And that's exactly what Midsummer Sueno accomplishes.
This adaptation does such a wonderful job of sharing Shakespeare’s beloved story through a colorful southwest San Antonio lens. The story centers around young lovers who struggle to be with the right people, some magic fairies who swirl their mischief into that struggle, an acting troupe that gets mixed into everything, an abundance of physical comedy, and to be honest…a whole lot of falling asleep in the forest. The story in this adaptation was told distinctly and clearly within a culture of current language mixed with classic Shakespeare verse, a little Spanglish, and against the backdrop of a wonderful set design by Anthony Claravino that represented the Hot Wells ruins from south San Antonio. The colorful sights and sounds of the ballet folklorico and music, composed by Jaime Ramirez, danced around all of this humor and action creating a perfectly magical evening for all who attended.
The most famous fairy from this show, Puck, played by Eric B. Mota, brought his exciting acrobatic and dance skill which helped create the perfect whimsical, impish, and lovable character. The audience just loved watching him dance around creating all kinds of mischief.
The lovers in the play were all so relatable and humorous. Amy Abrigo made a strong and relatable Elena, and she was perfect partner to Lucy Perez who played Ermida. Their interaction was a true highlight. I loved the way these two actresses found the intricate differences between the two women and created wonderfully fun interactions and adventures.
The acting troupe provided great over-the-top comedy that kept the audience in stitches. Chris Berry, who played Bottom, had such fun giving us the perfect amount of obnoxious overacting. The audience simply could not get enough of him. The troupe's work as an ensemble was its own delightful play within the play, and as their story intertwined with the chasing lovers and dancing fairies, the magic really swirled and the laughter fully broke open.
The play overall was a wonderful tribute to San Antonio Hispanic culture, from its language choices, to its dancing, its music and its wonderful performances. This event is the perfect example of the high caliber, meaningful theatre that is happening with Classic Theatre and San Pedro Playhouse. You absolutely do not want to miss this return of Shakespeare in the Park, so hurry out and get your tickets before time is up!
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