Shakespeare Group’s Modesty Runs Like ‘Dream’

There’s no law requiring theater companies to put on Christmas shows, but those that do so inevitably reveal much about their company identity.

South Coast Repertory’s “A Christmas Carol” says something about that theater’s belief in storytelling and craft. Pacific Resident Theatre Ensemble’s now-shuttered tradition of Thornton Wilder’s “The Long Christmas Dinner” revealed its identity as a group full of actors hungry to play as many roles as possible.

Shakespeare Orange County’s “A Midwinter Night’s Dream” demonstrates this company’s love of simplicity and understatement. It also shows how a good actor doesn’t need a costume to get into the moment.

Like a big group Christmas card, the annual show at Chapman University’s Waltmar Theatre comes and goes like an aroma, impressionistically bringing together texts as far-flung as Shakespeare sonnets, Yuletide drinking songs and a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem that demolishes Christmas commercialism. This “Dream” unfolds as an aural collage concerned with surprising the ear rather than massaging holiday sentiments.

It opens, for instance, with Carl Reggiardo reading a passage from Vachel Lindsay’s “The Shakespearean Christmas Tree,” combining grim, Midwestern winter cold and literary passion. You’ve probably never heard the passage, and you’ve probably never heard a Christmas show begin with such deathly quiet.

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Fortunately, the programming in this year’s edition (directed by Michael Nehring) never feels pressed to balance every serious moment with a light one. When John Shouse bursts forth with Ogden Nash’s sarcastic “Santa Go Home,” the actor mocks his own buttoned-up, bow-tie demeanor, sounding like he’s shouting from the hustings. It also is one helluva reading.

In fact, Shouse alone would be a fine idea for an evening. But there also are the highly felt readings--and singing--by Eve Himmelheber, Deborah Wissink and Daniel Bryan Cartmell, who strums an uneven guitar throughout but has a jolly time as both St. Nick and Mr. Pickwick in a rowdy, funny passage from Charles Dickens’ “The Pickwick Papers.”

This is not a perfectly balanced ensemble in which each actor delivers, indelibly. Craig Fleming (substituting for the absent Wayne Alexander) and Scott Bramble (a Chapman student recruited by the company) deliver very modestly indeed. Reggiardo sometimes registers barely above a whisper, and Cartmell’s fine dramatic gifts are underutilized.

But, without relying on costumes (except a hat and scarf or two in the “Pickwick” scene), there’s no doubt that these are all actors--Shakespearean actors.

Nehring gives a special grace to Robert Frost’s “Christmas Tree Circular Letter,” and Cartmell delivers arguably the show’s highlight with Ferlinghetti’s “Christ Climbed Down.” They also show that when 20th Century poetry is read by classically trained actors, the art rises off the page.

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After all this, things get goofy with an audience “act-along” of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” It may be a little too goofy for such a generally classy show, and a tad out of character for a company that goes in for understatement.

Because of that, you might miss the tasteful light design by David Darwin (marred opening night by an itchy electrical system) or set designer Craig Brown’s lovely notion to add glowing Chinese lanterns to the stage’s wintry scene. You might miss them, but you shouldn’t.

* “A Midwinter Night’s Dream,” Chapman University Waltmar Theatre, 310 E. Palm St., Orange. Today and Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends Thursday. $16-$20. (714) 744-7016. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. A Shakespeare Orange County production. Directed by Michael Nehring. With Wayne Alexander (replaced by Craig Fleming), Scott Bramble, Daniel Bryan Cartmell, Eve Himmelheber, John Frederick Jones, Michael Nehring, Carl Reggiardo, John Shouse, Deborah Wissink. Set: Craig Brown. Lights: David Darwin.