A 10-Year-Old Reviews DTC’s Midsummer Night’s Dream
Last night, My Fair Lady and our 10-year-old son went to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Wyly. This being the boy’s first official play (I don’t count Stomp), we weren’t sure whether or how much he’d dig it. So we gave him the option of decamping at halftime (as he refers to it). I was dreaming my own dreams by the time they returned last night (old man) and had to wait till breakfast to hear how it went.
He was blown away. We were late leaving the house for school because I couldn’t get him to shut up about the play long enough to eat his breakfast. There were Nerf guns involved in the production. And water guns! The actors ran into the audience, shot their weapons over the audience’s heads. I asked if he thought the play was funny, and he proceeded to re-create a funny scene for me (something was lost in translation apparently). My Fair Lady said she, too, had an absolute blast. At many points during the production, she said, she thought it couldn’t get any better — yet it did. The final scene actually brings the audience up onto the stage for a dance fest with the actors. All of which is to say: go see the play.
On the drive to school, I had the boy record a two-minute audio review. For your listening pleasure:
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Can’t wait! I have tickets for Saturday. I think Kevin Moriarty is going to be a great shot in the arm for the theater center. I loved “Tommy”, and I’ve never been a big theater fan. I’m also looking forward to next year’s “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman!”
@Anne: My son and I have already begun arguing about which of us will get to see It’s a Bird …. He’s pretty locked in.
And something I forgot to mention: Kevin Moriarty said a few words before the curtain went up. One of the actors (My Fair Lady thought maybe it was Puck?) was a stand-in for an actor who’d had an emergency appendectomy. The stand-in had just 24 hours to learn his lines.
Sorry to hear about Puck. The stand-in was probably awesome with just a short amount of time to prepare. Just hope it’s not Cedric the actor! Cedric was outstanding in “Tommy.” I saw Moriarty when he interviewed Tony Kushner about two years ago at the Kalita Humphries. Articulate, witty, charming. Afterwords, he stayed and spoke to everyone who waited to meet him. I became a big fan of his that night.
I vote you both go to “Superman.”
The kid’s a natural. Language and interpretive skills beyond his years. Look forward to more of these recorded mini-reviews.
The stand-in was for one of the actors in The Mechanicals. Puck (Cedric Neal) is well and good. We fully expect the actor on a short medical leave to return to the stage very soon.
“Unique and unlike any other play I’ve been to.”
If I didn’t know we were just talkin’ better than Stomp, that quote would have sent be scurrying to the ticket line.
Excellent review.
The kid is a born critic and a sensitive intellectual. How did he get to be so smart? It must be from his mother’s gene pool, don’t you think?
MFL hearts WS
I know this is a bit late to the party, but I saw Midsummer last night based on this post and your son’s review. There are no words to describe how amazing it was!! Looking forward to attending more productions from the DTC. Thanks for the tip!