A ‘Dream’ that goes for broke

Forget the fairies and the rude mechanicals: The measure of any “Midsummer Night’s Dream” is its Act 3, Scene 2 -- the four-way lovers’ wrestling match that, for all its slapstick contrivance, still manages to portray ardor and heartbreak as vividly as any scene in Shakespeare’s canon.

In director Tiger Reel’s snappy new “Midsummer,” this scene comes off as a stead-ily mounting, breathtakingly strenuous skirmish of the sexes, with a strong assist from the hanging forest vines of Joseph Stachura’s set; it is from these that Demetrius (Keith Edie) and Lysander (R.J. Jones) suspend the newly hated Hermia (Julie Terrell), though the object of their affections, Helena (Wendy Obstler), violently rebuffs their advances.

The vines also provide swinging entrances for Jamil Chokachi’s feral Puck, who models the show’s 1980s-vintage look; in his torn T-shirt, fringed vest and high-top sneakers, this Puck suggests Sting playing Gollum in “Fame.” The Athenian men are dressed by costumer Diana Tolins in black suits with pleated coattails, while Hermia wears leg-warmers over her boots, and Helena cuts a svelte business-suit figure.

The mechanicals here are mix-gendered office drones, though Starveling (Eric Baldwin) wears a disco jumpsuit and Weird Al Yankovic ‘fro, and a female Snug (Marti Hale) sports a beehive wig and bimbo’s decolletage. If Reel gives this crew too much leeway, it may be because he plays Bottom. The lack of objectivity shows.

But so does the go-for-broke relish that makes this a mostly winning “Midsummer.” The show’s grab-bag approach -- with vaguely Japanese fairies ruled by a shogun-like Oberon (Raymond Donahey) and a more conventionally sinuous Titania (Christina Howard) -- pays off because the grabbing is sufficiently aggressive and the bag crammed with treats.

-- Rob Kendt

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Knightsbridge Theatre, 1944 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Ends Aug. 13. $10. (323) 677-0955. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

*

‘Hamlet’ opts for authenticity

Compulsive ardor gives the charge to “Hamlet,” which opens the Independent Shakespeare Company’s third season of free productions in Barnsdall Park. This energetic alfresco reading catches the conscience of the Bard’s immortal Danish fracas, its trippingly spoken ensemble ignited by David Melville’s remarkable hero.

Since 1998, Independent Shakespeare Company has operated a modern variation on the actor-managed troupes of the Renaissance. On a bare stage, with minimal props and costumes, the company combines keen acting insights with the entertainment values that Elizabethan audiences took for granted.

Under Cassandra Johnson’s direction, this “Hamlet” takes little for granted, cutting Fortinbras while retaining Shakespeare’s trumps. From first sighting of the Ghost (Danny Campbell) to final duel, this tale of royal treachery and revenge receives as much invention and humor as authenticity permits.

Melville is wonderfully vital, with eloquent word pointing and physical choices. His colleagues are impressively spontaneous, starting with Melissa Chalsma’s mercurial Ophelia, arresting in the mad scene. Michael Keith Morgan’s brazen Claudius dovetails with Bernadette Sullivan’s sympathetic Gertrude. David Nathan Schwartz is a potent pedant of a Polonius. As Laertes, Hayden AdamsQ has youthful zeal, and Sean Pritchett subtly underplays Horatio. Campbell, Jennifer Mefford, Darrel Guilbeau, Matt Hurley and Taka Yamamoto relish their multiple roles.

Such festive vigor slightly mutes the tragic thrust. The set pieces are certainly dramatic, and the denouement benefits from Roy Guill’s fight choreography, but the undertow of grand anguish comes and goes. Still, at the reviewed performance it mattered little to the crowd. It gets chilly in Barnsdall after dark, so bring a sweater.

-- David C. Nichols

“Hamlet,” Barnsdall Park, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. 7:30 p.m. Today and Saturday. Dark July 3 through 20. Starting July 24, 7:30 p.m. Sundays. Ends Aug. 27. Free. (818) 710-6306 or www.independentshakespeare.com. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.

*

‘Placement’ adopts triplicate structure

“Placement,” Blair Singer’s world premiere play at the Black Dahlia Theatre, is structured as three distinct monologues detailing the tribulations of various individuals embroiled in the adoption process. As an opportunity for a trio of fine actors to ply their craft, it’s a considerable occasion. In terms of motivation and theatrical cohesion, however, “Placement” leaves something to be desired.

Director Matt Shakman does his typically virtuosic job with the material he is given. There’s no busy-ness to Shakman’s appropriately austere staging, which keeps the actors seated throughout the action. The effect is meditatively simple and unforced.

What does seem forced is the fact that these rawly confessional and often frankly sexual remarks are addressed to an unseen adoption agency representative, the very person who controls whether these hopefuls will actually get a baby or not. Perhaps Singer intended something deeply symbolic by this device, but surely this emotional outpouring would send any adoption official running for the exit.

In the opener, we hear from Nancy, a wealthy white matron whose adopted black daughter attends Yale. Now, Nancy is intent upon salvaging another “needy” child from the system, a move that has sparked bitter recriminations from her daughter. As played by the formidable Lee Garlington, Nancy seems richly sympathetic -- until she reveals the extent of her obnoxious entitlement.

It’s a neat twist, subtly rendered by Singer in the best piece of the evening. The second monologue, which details the efforts of the desperate Ronnie (Blake Robbins) to secure a child, spirals into a somewhat forced creepiness, while the third playlet introduces us to Tess (Katie Firth), a successful television writer who details her squalid past before deciding that motherhood might be a mixed blessing.

In all, this is gripping stuff that holds our attention. Yet the monologues themselves are suspiciously showy, more appropriate to a book of audition scenes than a sustained drama. Still, “Placement” might be lovingly fostered by a judicious rewrite.

-- F. Kathleen Foley

“Placement,” Black Dahlia Theatre, 5453 W. Pico Ave., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. No performances July 1-3. Ends July 31. $20. (866) 468-3399. www.thedahlia.com. Running time: 1 hour. 10 minutes.

*

Farrell’s sketches in search of a play

The word “promising” has a double edge when applied to a new talent: It means that we foresee great things in an artist that we can see only dimly in their work so far. That’s precisely the case with writer-director Anthony Q. Farrell’s amiable new anthology play, “Room,” which offers some fresh, offhanded spins on comic cliches before sputtering into a jokey collective shrug.

Farrell starts strong with a case of prehistoric class envy: An industrious caveman (Eric Hailey) has created the “first room,” leading his neighbor (Matt Braunger) to fixate on the things he could get away with in such privacy.

Braunger returns to great effect in the next bit, as a man prone to scathing outbursts when he’s off his meds. A later scene features the utterly winning Heather Klinke as a flinty biddy in a nightgown, left in heaven’s waiting room to make small talk and sample a cheese plate. And unflappable team player Hailey memorably gets jiggy in little more than a fig leaf and angel’s wings.

Farrell’s cast couldn’t be better or subtler. If he punched up two of his less distinguished sketches -- a sex chat room scam, a “Jerry Springer” scrimmage -- and scrapped the endearing but distracting mime antics of Mark Teich, Farrell’s “Room” would be much more inviting.

-- Rob Kendt

“Room,” the Met Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford Ave., Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Tuesdays to Wednesdays. Ends July 27. $10. (323) 957-1152. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.