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‘Shakespeare in Hollywood’: An utterly hilarious rendition

What do you get when you mix Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a 1930’s movie cast? The utterly hilarious play Shakespeare in Hollywood, performed this weekend at Unionville High School.

What do you get when you mix Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and a 1930's movie cast? The utterly hilarious play Shakespeare in Hollywood, performed this weekend at Unionville High School. The entire cast brought energy and enthusiasm into their performance, transporting them back to 1934. The show is about director Max Reinhardt's struggle as he puts together a movie adaptation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. However, the real Oberon and Puck have been transported to the future and are caught up in the production of the film. Things get tricky when Oberon falls for actress Olivia Darnell and even trickier when Puck's actions cause half the cast to fall madly in love with each other.

Charley Bloomfield played Oberon with confidence and conviction. Bloomfield worked with seemingly effortless ease alongside Madeline Pandos' portrayal of Puck. Pandos charmed the audience with her cheery disposition and witty dialogue. The audience got a dash of heartache along with the side-splitting humor of the show in Olivia Darnell (Ashley Lennick). Oberon and Olivia's romance was an adorable addition to an already wonderful show. The heartbreaking end to their love story even had some audience members whispering "No!" half to themselves and half to the characters.

The leads were not the only moons, or rather stars shining in the cast of Shakespeare in Hollywood. Will Hays (David Biddle) was hilariously narcissistic and Joe E. Brown (Alex Kallis) had one of the most hilarious scenes in the show. Clarisse Cofrancesco played the ditsy Lydia Lansing with aplomb, portraying the classic archetype character with ease. The entire cast radiated energy that only grew stronger as the show progressed.

The technical aspects of Unionville's production were as admirable as the performance aspects. Deepthi Aravind, Sara Hunt, and Amelia Tedesco were jacks of all trades, turning in wonderful sets, props, and a quick and efficient stage crew. Tommy Cadden's sound design was practically seamless, not only in microphone use but in sound cues as well. Sud Iyer's lighting design was also memorable in capturing the mood of each scene without being overly dramatic and taking away from the performers.

Overall, Unionville High School turned in a brilliant performance of Shakespeare in Hollywood. The audience was left in stitches with the side-splitting hilarity of the show and the effortless delivery of the witty dialogue. With many allusions to other Shakespeare works, it was enjoyable for its literary humor as well. For as William Shakespeare wrote in A Midsummer Night's Dream, "The course of true love never did run smooth."