Knapp, cast deliver comedy
By John Berger
Special to the Star-Bulletin"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of Shakespeare's best-known and most-often staged comedies. It's hilarious when done well. Director Terence Knapp and a talented cast do it well indeed at Kennedy Theatre.
Joe Abraham (Nick Bottom) and Stephanie Sanchez (Hermia) are first and foremost in key comic roles. Abraham is outstanding in all aspects both as Bottom the egotistical amateur actor and as the enchanted ass beloved by the Fairie Queen. Sanchez' performance proves once again that she is one of the premiere talents in the UH-Manoa theatre.
But Abraham and Sanchez aren't alone in making this a fine show for Knapp. Sanchez has a solid leading man in Eric Dixon Burns (Lysander) and gets excellent support from Michael Lono Hanuna (Demetrius) and Rachelle Amparo (Helena).
On Stage: "A Midsummer Night's Dream," presented by the UH-Manoa Department of Theatre & Dance.
When: 8 p.m. today through Saturday. Sunday at 2 p.m.
Where: Kennedy Theatre.
Tickets: $12; discounts available for seniors, students, military personnel, and UH faculty and staff.
Call: 956-7655.
Abraham benefits from the work of the other "Mechanicals" -- Christopher Boswell (Flute), Edward J. Dyer (Quince), Mitchell Goo (Snug), Jeremy Pippin (Snout) and Dave Robertson (Starveling). Their ensemble work is smooth throughout. It builds to the hilariously bad play-within-a-play they stage for the wedding of the Duke of Athens (Kimo Moore) and the Queen of the Amazons (Cassandra Wormser).
As is often the case with local productions of Shakespeare's plays the physical comedy went over more strongly on opening night than The Bard's verbal subtleties. One exception was Bottom's soliloquy, which plays on the various meanings of the word "ass."
Sanchez shows once again her range and versatility with an excellent performance in a role that demands both romantic passion and physical comedy. Burns seems to grow in size and presence -- expanding from callow foppish youth to romantic lead -- as Lysander lives through his "dream" in the forest.
Shen Nissan Sugai adds an agile physical presence as Puck a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow, loyal minion and bumbling gofer of Oberon, King of the Fairies (Albert Leausa Ueligitone). Ueligitone returns to local theatre with a competent performance but doesn't surmount the basic challenge of the role. Oberon says what he is going to do, he does it, and he gets his way in every respect. It's a classic male fantasy but not much for an actor to work with or an audience to relate to.
Knapp presents it all on slanting stage bare but for a flight of stairs. Joseph D. Dodd (Scenic Design) uses long strips of silver material to enclose the performance are and suggest a mystical environment.
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