Midsummer Night's Dream, A

Midsummer Night's Dream, A. Shakespeare's fantastic comedy was first offered at the Park Theatre in 1826. Its popularity in the 19th century was abetted by two landmark revivals: William Burton's sumptuous production in 1854, with himself as Bottom, and Daly's 1888 mounting with Ada Rehan, John Drew, Virginia Dreher, and Otis Skinner as the lovers, and James Lewis as Bottom. As with Burton's production, this revival was mounted with Victorian opulence, its elaborate settings the work of Henry Hoyt. Many of the most memorable 20th‐century presentations have been importations. The lavish Old Vic revival in 1954 was on such a scale that it was presented not at a regular playhouse but at the Metropolitan Opera House. The noted dancers Robert Helpmann and Moira Shearer were Oberon and Titania, and Stanley Holloway was an engaging Bottom. By contrast the Royal Shakespeare Company offered Peter Brook's austere and modern interpretation in 1971. One commentator noted, “The fairy tale was no longer ethereal, no more spirits with gauzy wings, but an intensely physical magic. Against Sally Jacobs's glaring white three‐walled setting, the actors in their orange and purple robes were psychedelically present.” The fantasy remains one of the most produced of Shakespeare's works in schools, regional theatre, and festivals. There have been at least two American musical versions of the tale: Swingin' the Dream (1939) with a jazzy Jimmy Van Heusen score and an all‐black cast that included Louis Armstrong as Bottom, and the Off‐Broadway offering Babes in the Woods (1964) by Rick Besoyan; both were quick failures.