“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

    Going to see “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” performed by Shenandoah Shakespeare Express was a much different experience than going to see “Hamlet,” but no less enjoyable.  I was very unfamiliar with the plot, so I found myself paying more attention to what was going on instead of the words to the play.  Now that I know more about the plot, I would like to see it performed again, so that I could pay more attention to the language used and the way the characters are portrayed.  It would also be nice to read the play and see other versions of it performed, in order to compare several interpretations.
    Though Shenandoah Shakespeare emphasized the humor found in “Hamlet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was much more of a comedy.  The costumes and casting of the characters brought out all aspects of humor and made them the focus of the play.  Each character seemed well suited for their part.
    I thought that all of the actors did a good job of making their characters seem believable.  I found myself pulling for Lysander’s and Hermia’s romance, wanting them to prevail over Egeus’ wishes and Puck’s spell.  I was glad that everyone was content in the end.  The hardest part about watching the play was envisioning the scenes.  Most of the play took place at night, and sometimes I had to keep reminding myself of that.  I don’t know why I didn’t have that problem while watching “Hamlet.”  It might have had something to do with my difference in familiarity of the two plays.