British Universities Film & Video Council

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Midsummer Night’s Dream, A

Synopsis
Video recording of A. J. Antoon’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the 1988 New York Shakespeare Festival. F. Murray Abraham is Bottom.
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Video
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Recording date
19 Mar 1988
Duration
138 mins

Credits

Director
A.J. Antoon
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Michael Ward
Costume
Frank Krenz
Choreographer
Garth Fagan
Cast
Jack RylandTheseus
Patty HolleyHippolyta
Carl LumblyOberon
Lorraine ToussaintTitania
Geoffrey OwensPuck (Robin Goodfellow)
Bruce NorrisDemetrius
Elizabeth McGovernHelena
Eric AvariEgeus
F. Murray AbrahamNick Bottom
Gwendolyn J. ShepherdPeaseblossom
Joe ZaloomTom Snout
Julia GibsonHermia
Mandia MsomiChangeling
Peter AppelSnug
Richard RiehlePeter Quince
Rob KnepperLysander
Sara ErdeMustardseed
Steve HofvendahlRobin Starveling
Tim PerezFrancis Flute
Tom WhiteheadCobweb

Additional Details

Theatre
Public/Anspacher Theatre, New York, NY
Production type
Stage Recordings
Historical period
Victorian
Plays
Midsummer Night’s Dream, A
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Multicultural casting; New York Shakespeare Festival; Shakespeare Marathon (1987-1997)
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Notes

Stills
Frank Rich (op cit) writes - ‘The play’s setting has been moved from Athens to funkier Brazilian climes (turn-of-the-century Bahia), with the bossa nova beat of an offstage band often overriding the poetry’.
Reviews
Rich, Frank. New York Times (13 January 1988, p. 18). Rich writes - ‘By transforming the young lovers into starchy European colonials and the fairies into jungle spiritualists, this ''Dream’' is less a vision of romantic emancipation than an outsider’s gaga celebration of the liberating culture of the third world’.

Archive

Name

Theatre on Film and Tape (TOFT)

Email
toft@nypl.org
Web
http://www.nypl.org/locations/lpa/theatre-film-and-tape-archive External site opens in new window
Phone
+ 1 (212) 870-1642
Fax
(212) 8701868
Address
Billy Rose Theatre Collection
40 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York,New York
10023-7498
USA

Record Stats

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