STAGE REVIEW : ‘Midsummer’ Production Closer to ‘Peter Pan’ Than Shakespeare

Directors Charles Mitchell and Renata Florin seem determined to turn “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” into a hybrid of Shakespeare and “Peter Pan” at Golden West College.

In the press release announcing the show, Mitchell even says that his production should be accessible to everybody, including children. To make it so, he and Florin give us a flying Puck (Ponzer Berkman suspended by a wire), pushy mood music and a gang of fairies and sprites dressed up in sort of a Never-Never Land chic. The performances are youthfully busy but fail to do justice to Shakespeare in one of his wittiest humors.

And there’s the rub. Kids probably wouldn’t be that interested in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” even if you had Godzilla fighting it out with ninja turtles in the background. They might pay attention for a while, but they aren’t going to get it.

The classic is a fairy tale, all right, but an adult fairy tale. All the other frills just cloud it for everybody else, from grown-ups to teen-agers who are beginning to grasp the nuances of this romp through romantic chicanery and the divine foolishness of love. This approach especially diminishes the language, which is what people come for with Shakespeare.

This clearly is a learning experience for the cast, and the show is hampered by a lack of expertise. Lynn Laguna’s Hermia seems anguished by romance, but that’s about it. And Steve Gomer’s Lysander is just a boy who gets moon-eyed a lot. There’s no rapture here, comic or otherwise.

Most of the young performers fail to vivify their roles, and that makes for a pretty long haul, even with Mitchell and Florin’s attempts to juice it up. There are a couple of exceptions, though. Shannon McCleerey’s Helena has pluck; McCleerey goes overboard in all her flouncing about, but at least she has spirit. Jay Mead’s Bottom also shows braying promise.

‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM’

A Golden West College production of Shakespeare’s play. Directed by Charles Mitchell and Renata Florin. With Steve Silva, Jay Mead, Gino England, Herman Dinaburg, Ray Molina, Eric Schiffer, Jennifer Boudreau, Robin Lynn, Julie Hutchins, Anthony Ramirez, Charles Bartunnek, Kevin Langan, Dan Pankartz, Lynn Laguna, Steve Gomer, Bob Smey, Shannon McCleerey, Ponzer Berkman, Paula Mead, Jason Crump, Ann Marie Bundy, Sharon Kennedy, Debbie Gerber, Penelope Porter, Lisa Norro, Lisa Giovannetti, Leticia K. Ogawa and Jason Rodriguez. Set by Charles P. Davis. Lighting by Bill Georges. Costumes by Susan Thomas Babb and Robin Whitney. Makeup by Susan Thomas Babb. Sound by David Edwards. Choreography by Julie Hutchins. Plays Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. at Golden West College’s Mainstage Theatre, 15744 Golden West St., Huntington Beach. Tickets: $5 to $7. (714) 895-8378.