A Midsummer Night's Dream is probably my favorite Shakespeare play. Partly because it's also probably the one I've seen the most on stage (this is my 10th time seeing it, and
my 7th time writing about it in my almost 15 years as a Twin Cities Theater Blogger), but also because it's really the perfect rom com, with a little bit of everything. In his final season as the Guthrie's Artistic Director,
Joe Dowling staged a memorable in-the-round production in 2015, and now current Artistic Director Joseph Haj is bringing us his version of this classic. I was lucky enough to attend the first meet-and-greet with the cast and creative team back in early January, when Joe talked about what the show means to him. He staged it at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in March 2020, and we know how that story goes - the show only had a few performances before being cancelled due to the pandemic. So this is a re-do of sorts, even bringing a few cast and creatives back. But this is a fresh, new
Midsummer, bringing a bright warm glow to the Guthrie stage now when we need in most in this bleak, dark Midwinter. It's a delightful production full of heart, humor, and hope, and more music than any previous
Midsummer I've seen. Whether you've never seen
Midsummer before (where have you been?) or you've seen it a dozen times, here are ten reasons to
see the Guthrie's new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream:
