THEATER REVIEW : It’s Bottom’s Up With John Fleck in This ‘Dream’

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” ends with one of the funniest parodies of bad theater in all of literature. Bottom and his troupe of workmen/amateur actors have been rehearsing their play, depicting “the most cruel death” of the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. In search of entertainment for his court, Duke Theseus (Brian Brophy) selects Bottom’s play for one main reason: It is brief. Also, the alternative would be to watch “the battle with the Centaurs to be sung by an Athenian eunuch to the harp.” And we all know how tedious that can be.

Being a consummate man of the theater, Shakespeare understood very well how an actor can turn a tragedy into a howling comedy. Of course, it takes a brave actor, one who is not afraid of the terrible thespian inside of him, to do justice to Bottom. John Fleck is such an actor. In the Grove Theater Center production of Shakespeare’s comedy, Fleck gives us a Bottom not merely stage-struck, but awash in bad theatricality. Every gesture is pitched for maximum effect, whether there is someone else there or not.

When he first enters he seems to be waltzing with himself, his eyes glued to the mirror in his hand. Fleck is a lion ferociously in search of applause--which he wrings from his troupe whenever he addresses them--and he growls when he gets it. His need for attention is almost psychotic; he seems to be giving himself a bronchial attack in his effort to emote histrionically enough.

And that’s before Bottom even takes the stage within the stage. Once he steps into the role of Pyramus, he speaks to his audience as if it were a small, unintelligent child standing very, very far away. Not to be outdone, Flute (the funny Newton Kaneshiro), embarks on a series of cartwheels to draw attention to his character, Thisbe.

Under Kevin Cochran’s direction, the rest of the production has its moments, but doesn’t live up to this vivid standard. This is a story full of gentle magic, watched over by benign fairies who sometimes take a hand in the changing fortunes of the play’s four young lovers lost in the woods. The fairies here are puppets of varied shapes and sizes, manned by visible actors in beekeeper suits.

Aesthetically, puppet designer Christine Papalexis hasn’t quite pulled it off. Each puppet seems to come from a different puppet universe. Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed are tiny little bursts of white tulle, manned by actors holding long, flexible sticks. Puck--manned by two actors--is the next size up, and looks like Sesame Street’s Ernie, only aged and with gremlin ears. Finally, Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of the Fairies, are huge, about 12 feet high, and look like gigantic corkscrews covered in gauze. They have the faces of space aliens; they seem cold and interplanetary, whereas Puck is cuddly and cute. Nothing seems to go together.

Further, the audience must do a lot of work to see these puppets as magical, because it must shut out all of the handlers surrounding them. Oberon and Titania each speak with two voices, male and female, and each are handled by three visible actors. The stage is much too busy to ever seem ethereal.

The rest of cast ranges from workmanlike to amateurish. Of the lovers, only Jennifer Seifert stands out, as a vivacious Helena (but she could stand to take it down a tone). Mink Stole brings a nice deadpan to the role of Quince, and her hair seems to have a life of its own. A dog named Jean Gabin scratches fleas on cues.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is the Grove Theatre Center’s first offering in its outdoor Festival Amphitheater. Under artistic director Cochran and executive director Charles Johanson, it has produced an evening, in the words of Theseus, that is often “strange and admirable.” Thanks to the cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe, it’s even delightful.

* “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Grove Theatre Center, Festival Amphitheatre, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Thursday-Sunday, 8 p.m. Ends June 25. $18.50-$24.50. (714) 636-7213. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Brian Brophy: Theseus

Jules Mandel: Egeus

Sean Moynihan: Demetrius

Jennifer Seifert: Helena

John Fleck: Bottom

James Griggs: Starveling

Nancy Moore Snug

Michele Roberge: Hippolyta

Rebecca Clark: Hermia

Daniel Murray: Lysander

Mink Stole: Quince

Newton Kaneshiro: Flute

Julie Thompson: Snout

Puppets: Brian Brophy, Christine Papalexis, Michele Roberge, Mike Cunningham, Newton Kaneshiro, James Griggs, Mink Stole, Julie Thompson.

A Grove Theater Center production. By William Shakespeare. Directed by Kevin Cochran. Sets by Mark Klopfenstein. Costumes by Terri Nista. Puppets by Christine Papalexis. Lights by David Darwin. Music by David Ortega. Production stage manager Tracy Strickfaden.