Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare

I'm a devotee of free Shakespeare summertime productions. I never saw a live performance of a Shakespeare play before I was in college. And then the first one I did attend was a free, outdoor performance at Hermann Park's Miller Theater, one of the first produced by the Houston Shakespeare Festival.  I don't remember the play--partly because the acoustics were so poor that I couldn't follow the play at all--but I do remember the quiet joy of walking over to the park with cheerful friends, a light meal, a bottle of wine, and a blanket, and then feeling the cool gradually creep through the park.  In the summer, after sunset holds Houston's best hours, and the experience seemed a complete luxury. 

After only two summers, I moved away and hadn't see another Shakespeare production--in a park or theater--for another fifteen years, when I rounded up the neighborhood grade-school-aged kids (mine included) and took them to see Twelfth Night in a Lubbock, Texas park.  The whole evening was absolutely enchanting.  T & K still laugh when they remember the yellow stockings.

A summer or two later, my children and I had just moved to New Haven. Our first excursion was to see the Elm City Shakespeare Players' production of The Tempest in Edgerton Park.   Ever since, my summer hasn't been complete unless I've seen Shakespeare in a park.

Tonight, for the first time, I saw Shakespeare in a zoo, an apt setting for Midsummer Night's Dream: a peacock perched above the proscenium and trumpeted throughout.  This production was extremely audience friendly, with plenty of exposition added to ensure even the most novice audience member could follow the narratives.  Unlike my first experience with outdoor theater 30 years ago, the performers were well miked, allowing for everyone to easily understand the dialogue.  And, as I've come the love, the evening air was delightful, the audience appreciative, and the company of friends warm. 

Very family friendly; recommend.