ages of reciprocity. Then Oberon
rests his head in Titania’s lap as if
to say he’s not so tough after all.
Jacopo Jannelli is Puck, making him earthy and physical even
in his twisting leaps, and the way
he stares at the mixed-up lovers tells us he’s none too bright.
Joshua Kurtzberg prances happily
through his part as Bottom—after
all, he’s the one who gets the girl.
Making us feel the mortal characters’ desperation most keenly is
Samantha Gullace. As poor Helena, she finds herself torn, rejected
by her beloved Demetrius one
minute and mistrusting her sudden popularity the next. Nanako
Yamamoto’s Hermia is more selfcontained, becoming petulant
lik e a spoiled child when her boyfriend Lysander abandons her for
Helena. As Demetrius, Marc St.Pierre fusses and fumes, trying to
escape from Helena and then trying to unload her, when she catches him---until quite unexpectedly
he discovers he can’t have enough
of her. And Cameron Auble-Bra-
New Jersey Stage
New Jersey Stage
nigan seems typecast as sweetseeming Lysander who becomes
pugnacious when an accidental
dusting of pollen from the flower known as “love-in-idleness”
makes him allergic to Hermia and
randy for Helena instead.
It is hard to predict how the
pieces of this “Midsummer” will
fit together when Martin’s ballet
is complete and how things will
November 2014
November 2014
pgpg 50
50