Taylor Kass

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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Jacqueline Misaye and Carene Rose Mekertichyan (Photo by Gretel Cortes Photography)
Jacqueline Misaye and Carene Rose Mekertichyan (Photo by Gretel Cortes Photography)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Independent Shakespeare Company
Through September 3

RECOMMENDED

Anything can happen in the woods. In Shakespeare’s iconic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hermia (Justine Faith) and Lysander (Patrick Batiste Jr.) are head over heels in love, but her father orders her to marry Demitrius (Kelvin Morales) instead. Hermia and Lysander plan to elope and flee Athens, but Hermia’s best friend Helena (Noriani Estevez), who is hopelessly in love with Demitrius, alerts him of their plan. The four lovers, along with a troupe of amateur actors rehearsing a play, find themselves lost in the woods — and in the middle of a feud between fairy king Oberon (David Melville) and fairy queen Titania (Sabra Williams). Mischievous fairy magic ensues. In the second offering in their free summer Shakespeare festival, Independent Shakespeare Company offers a fun and accessible Midsummer anchored by solid comedic performances.

William Elsman’s charmingly brash Bottom, who leads the troupe of amateur actors preparing a play for the wedding of Duke Theseus (Melville in a dual role) and Hippolyta (Williams in a dual role), is even funnier when contrasted with his performance as straightlaced senator Brutus in ISC’s production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar earlier this summer. It’s a treat to see the ISC company of actors show off their comedic chops after pulling off a formidable political drama. Other standouts from the cast include Jacqueline Misaye as an adorably naughty Puck and Batiste as Lysander (who also lends his impressive vocal chops to a live band at intermission).

Director Melissa Chalsma brushes over the sexier and darker themes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in favor of highlighting the play’s lighthearted, joyous humor. But apart from a few fun musical interludes and a pair of bell-bottoms or two, the 1970s Studio 54 production design isn’t quite strong enough to connect to the play’s themes. The fairies’ otherworldly costumes don’t quite match the 1970s vibe either, although their alien-like aesthetic and odd mannerisms are delightfully weird. Aesthetics aside, ISC delivers when it counts — well-acted, creative Shakespeare for all Angelenos.

The Old Zoo at Griffith Park, main lawn, 4801 Griffith Park Dr., Los Feliz; Wed. – Sun. 7 p.m.; through July 30. www.iscla.org. Running time: 2 hours and 55 minutes with one 25-minute intermissi 

 

 

Group Therapy

Group Therapy

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Marnina Schon and Andy Hoff (Photo by Frank Ishman)
Marnina Schon and Andy Hoff (Photo by Frank Ishman)

Group Therapy

Sweet Talk Productions at Theatre 68 Arts Complex
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Through August 20th

RECOMMENDED

It’s Waiting for Godot for mental health-conscious millennials – after a time-change mixup lands Jonathan (Andy Hoff) and Cassandra (Marnina Schon) in their therapist’s waiting room at the same time and a local emergency delays their therapist, the unlikely pair have nothing to do but therapize each other. But in the play’s second half, an unexpected new arrival in the waiting room shakes things up in a dangerous way. Sweet Talk Productions presents the world premiere of Peter Lefcourt’s new dramedy Group Therapy, an exploration of the explosive potential of human connection.

Jonathan and Cassandra represent two polar-opposite ends of the spectrum of people who pay $225 per session for therapy in Los Angeles. Jonathan is a fastidious podiatrist whose buttoned-up exterior hides a messy and complicated dynamic with his boyfriend. Cassandra is a bubbly free spirit with a handful of maxed-out credit cards and no direction in life. Andy Hoff and Marnina Schon skillfully imbue likeability into their rather unlikeable characters and create a uniquely watchable dynamic. When the state of emergency necessitates a lockdown of the building, Hoff and Schon’s comedic chemistry is pitch-perfect as they struggle to co-exist and find common ground. And that’s the reason why actual group therapy is so effective — interpersonal dynamics can often create the friction necessary for greater self-awareness in a way that individual therapy can’t.

Director Terri Hanauer injects as much dynamism as possible into the play’s first half, which threatens to be weighed down by Jonathan and Cassandra’s boredom and frustration. But when mysterious intruder Michelle (Ashley Platz) bursts into the office, the tension rises to a fever pitch that’s at once dangerous and hilarious. A play about therapy is at risk of devolving into therapy-speak (pop psychology terms and armchair analysis), but Group Therapy offers a necessary antidote in its subtly absurdist tone.

 Theatre 68 Arts Complex, 5112 Lankershim Boulevard, N. Hollywood. Opens Fri., July 21; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru Aug. 20. https://OnStage411.com/therapy. Running time: 1 hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.