Troupe brings ‘Midsummer’ magic to Summerlin

Marilyn LaRocque

Thursday, May 15, 2003 | 8:15 a.m.

Magic potions, fairies, royalty and peasants trying to be actors intermingle in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," this year's production of "Shakespeare Under the Stars."

Under the direction of Deanna Duplechain, Nevada Theatre Company is presenting an abridged version of the popular comedy at 8 p.m. today through Saturday at Summerlin Centre Community Park on Town Center Drive between Charleston Boulevard and Sahara Avenue. The production has been arranged in association with the city of Summerlin and the Howard Hughes Corporation. Gates open at 5:30 p.m.

A "Green Show," an Elizabethan festival of song, dance, juggling and puppetry, begins at 7:30 p.m.

NTC has, in the past, used a portable "showmobile" as its stage. This year, it's constructing its own.

"John Gallagher has designed wonderful sets," Duplechain said, "and Mario D'Loe's costumes are marvelous. Both men are associated with Cirque du Soleil and have added their wonderful creative ingenuity."

Set in ancient Greece, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" blends three distinct worlds -- the court of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and his betrothed, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons; the fairy domain of Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies; and the "rude mechanicals," peasant tradespeople, who are staging "Pyramus and Thisbe" in honor of the Duke's wedding.

The convoluted plot is a maze of good intentions gone awry with the inevitable happy ending.

Theseus and his forces defeated Hippolyta and her Amazons in a war; and she is now, reluctantly, betrothed to him. There are two other couples -- Hermia and Lysander, who love each other, and Helena and Demetrius.

Demetrius had been in love with Helena, but he now loves Hermia. Pressured by her father, Hermia has four days to either accept Demetrius or go to a nunnery or face a death sentence. She opts for a fourth solution -- running away with Lysander into the forest. Helena and Demetrius pursue them.

Oberon and Titania -- and their troupe of fairies -- live in the forest. The couple are fighting over whether a young boy -- the orphan son of a dear friend of Titania, will join the retinue of Oberon or Titania.

Enter Puck, Oberon's mischievous servant. He brings to Oberon love drops which will make a person fall in love with the first "creature" they see.

The drops are supposed to go in the eyes of Titania, to rekindle her love for Oberon, and also into Demetrius' eyes, so he'll love Helena. Instead, Puck puts the drops in Lysander's eyes. Lysander first sees Helena and abandons Hermia.

Puck also casts a spell over "Bottom," leader of the rude mechanicals, and gives him the head of an ass. Titania first sees Bottom and adores him. The absurdities escalate until Oberon administers antidotes. Ultimately there's a triple wedding, and the townsfolk perform their play.

The fine line between the real and fantasy worlds is reinforced by double casting of key parts. Heather Burdette is Hippolyta and Titania. Michael Karp plays both Theseus and Oberon. Keala Settle portrays Philostrate, Master of Revels to Theseus, and Puck, servant to Oberon.

Burdette received her degree in theater from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has been acting professionally in Las Vegas since 1996, performing in shows on the Strip, primarily in Caesars Magical Empire, and now as an understudy for the Second City troupe at Flamingo Las Vegas.

She described Hippolyta as "very grounded," with an Amazon's strength and physical power. She termed Titania's fantasy world "a cross between the natural and supernatural." Continuing, Burdett said, "I thought about what each would be like in terms of their characters. Hippolyta is marrying Theseus only because the Amazons lost the war against him. Her emotions are those of defeat, and she's not happy. Titania is very light and airy. She and her followers represent daytime, flowers, sunshine, beauty. Oberon and Puck stand for the roughness of life, briars and tangles, the night."

As Theseus/Oberon, Karp has found the dual roles "extremely challenging and exciting. They're both kings, but you have to make them different. One is earthbound; one, a fairy. Both have to be stately and regal and larger than life, but each in his own way."

How does Karp accomplish this?

He relies on his education -- bachelor of fine arts and master of fine arts degrees from Ohio State University and his training at the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey clown college.

"I do it through the physicality of the characters," he said, "the way I move, talk, interact with other characters. Theseus is very purposeful, involved in pomp and pageantry. As Oberon, I'm pretty much all over the set, up and down the scaffolding, wherever I can get a foothold."