Mirror Review: DHS' A Midsummer Night's Dream

Each year, the Dedham High School Performing Arts Company stages its annual fall play. Questions on whether a fall production would even take place occurred after Fine Arts Director Eytan Wurman parted ways with DHS after three years. The program also lost its theater teacher, Wyatt Jackson. After a stressful hunt, DHS landed the talents of Lindsay Soson, who directed this year’s fall production of Shakespeare's classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The curtain opens in the James F. Dunne Auditorium to Theseus’ Garden Estate. We meet a group of Athenians who are enraptured by the central ideas of love and its sinister ways. Then, the talented Kate Tocci (Puck) and Devlin Jones (Oberon), reveal to us the central plot: Oberon is the King of the Fairies, who had sent his servant fairy, Puck, to find a purple flower with a magical juice that causes someone to fall in love with the first person they see. Later, in act wo, Oberon comes across Helena (Susie Plunkett) and Demetrius (Brendan Greeley) arguing in the forest. Once overhearing this Oberon then fetches Puck to create the potion and to place it in the eyes of Demetrius, but Puck mistakes Demetrius for Lysander (Aj Castillo). Lysander is then awakened in the forest by Helena, in which he immediately falls in love with her, and leaves his true love Hermia (Maeve Keough) behind. Playful shenanigans ensue, and there's even a play within a play!

Every actor in the production was outstandingly entertaining. But a few stood out. Namely, Kate Tocci, Maeve Keough, Susie Plunkett, and AJ Castillo. They’re ability to tap into the Shakespearean ethos enhanced the entire production. I had the opportunity to hear, first hand, the triumphs and challenges these actors faced behind the scenes.

At first, the cast was hesitant about Shakespeare's long monologues and challenging language. “Figuring exactly what the language meant, developing the character, and taking on a demanding role” was the biggest challenge for Plunkett and her fellow thespians. The built-in community of the Performing Arts Company, however, got them through it. Tocci noted how she felt like she made a lot of new friends, which built a bigger sense of community.

Not only were the people on stage top-notch, the tech crew delivered as well. The lights and sound effects all contrasted in a most aesthetically pleasing way, slowly adding a darker mood to the gradual shifts that came about in the play. The stage design and scenery brought the whole piece together with the appearance of dreamy and mystical props.

As for Soson, she felt the actors mastered the difficult task of delivering the play's language, saying, "Shakespeare is super tough. Both memorizing and inhabiting the meaning of what you’re saying and the physicality of the language. They really took it on and did an amazing job!”

Ultimately, the show was staged beautifully. Every member of the company should feel proud of what they accomplished.