A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM by William Shakespeare |
| Directed by: Michael Scolamiero Starring: Jeffrey Gribler, Dede Barfield, Jodie Gates, Martha Chamberlain Academy of Music 1101 S. Broad Street |
Words are easily misconstrued in modern culture. Remove these sometime obstacles from a production and an entirely new medium is allowed to emerge from the original text. The result is ballet. A production wholly governed by the body and its movement, ballet provides the emotional response that verse often lacks.
A Midsummer Night's Dream, based on William Shakespeare's comedy, and originally presented by the New York City Ballet nearly four decades ago, carries with it an emotional
response in music and movement that transcends any additions speech could offer.
The Pennsylvania Ballet's final production of the 2001 season firmly lives up to the challenge inherent in a production of this magnitude, creating a performance that is both a technical and an artistic success.
Costumes are designed with a vibrancy of their own, not only complimenting the dancer's movements, but accentuating the body to lend an other worldly quality to each movement.
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a difficult performance to stage in any venue and in any medium due to its entirely fantastical setting. In this showing, the beautiful sets of David Hays create a fairly tale world ripe for the introduction of fairies, sprites and over a dozen adorable children costumed as winged bugs.
Filled with colorful creatures, Midsummer Night's casting was right on, in selected dancers who could both amaze an audience with their technical skill as well as entertain with their specialized antics.
Audiences will not be able to stifle their chuckles as they follow the web of love and lust entagled within this medieval forest. Principal Dancer and Ballet Master, Jeffrey Gribler dances as Puck, the naughty sprite responsible for all the play'sconfusion. Gribler, in is his final performance with the company before retirement, dances skillfully, but his real talent lies in his ability to entertain. Gribler's Puck is a roguish little fellow, appearing in nearly every scene to complicate the plot with his foolish plans. He never fails to elicit a laugh from the audience, be it with an exaggerated leap from off stage or a mere wiggle of his overstated eyebrows.
Harmony among the dancing couples and the ensemble allowed for a seamless performance of the ballet. All involved added a new and wonderful effect to the performance, transporting an urban audience into Shakespeare's fantasy world.
