A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

This newest version of Shakespeare's midsummer romp is a most wonderful addition. Uncut and fully dramatized, it transports us deftly from the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, into the bewildering confusions of the night forest, where magic and mischief abound. The forest where Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius finally are betrothed bewitches us with its array of night sounds, and the fairy world is easily identified by the soft electronic echo in the voices of Oberon, Titania and Puck. But what really distinguishes Arkangel's production is the masterful performances of the whole cast. Maybe we have, as Puck would have us believe, "but slumb'red here/while these visions did appear." P.E.F. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/MAR 99]