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6/14/13 Review: A wacky, inspired 'Midsummer Saturday Night's Fever Dream' - latimes.com
www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-theater-review-a-midsummer-saturday-nights-fever-dream-at-the-falcon-theatre-20130611,0,4495745.story 1/4
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By Philip BrandesJune 12, 2013 , 11:28 a.m.
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Review: A wacky, inspired 'Midsummer SaturdayNight's Fever Dream'
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Though Shakespeare’s Bottom claimed his dream was “pastthe wit of man” to describe, it’s well within the wit of theTroubadour Theater Company to revive in spectacularsequinstudded style with the return of “A MidsummerSaturday Night’s Fever Dream” to Burbank’s Falcon Theatre.
Even by the Troubies’ typically reliable comic standards, thiscommedia dell’arteinfused mashup of classical lit and popculture is an exceptionally hilarious and energetic romp.
Arguably the zaniest of Shakespeare’s comedies, “AMidsummer Night’s Dream” — with its interwoven narrativetriad of frantic, mismatched lovers, mischievous prankster
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Matt Walker, top rear, and his multitalented ensemble in its commedia dell'arteinfused mashup of Shakespeare and1970s disco, "A Midsummer Saturday Night's Fever Dream." (Chelsea Sutton)
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6/14/13 Review: A wacky, inspired 'Midsummer Saturday Night's Fever Dream' - latimes.com
www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-theater-review-a-midsummer-saturday-nights-fever-dream-at-the-falcon-theatre-20130611,0,4495745.story 2/4
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fairies and oafish wouldbe thespians — lends itselfparticularly well to the slapstick clowning and improvisedfourth wall demolition that are the Troubie’s forte.
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Setting Shakespeare’s selfabsorbed characters to thenarcissistic excesses of the 1970s disco scene provides anirreverently inspired visual, thematic and musical foundation,as director Matt Walker and his cohorts gleefully cavort toiconic “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack hits by the BeeGees, KC and the Sunshine Band, the Trammps and YvonneElliman. Eric Heinly’s redhot fourpiece band featuresperiodperfect wahwah guitar flourishes by Linda Taylor,reinforcing the romantic high jinks with theme song snippetsas wideranging as “Love Boat” funk and “Love Story”schmaltz.
Walker applies his professional clowning and acrobatic skillsto excellent effect as the show’s twin instigators of comicmayhem. As fairy Puck, he casts misfiring love spells over thequartet of naive young aristocrats (Beth Kennedy, Joseph LeoBwarie, Katherine Malak, Tyler King) and causes fairy queen
Titania (Monica Schneider) to become enamored of Rick Batalla’s (temporarily literal) jackassBottom.
As the inept directorplaywright Peter Quince, Walker steers Bottom and his band of crude laborers(Rob Nagle, Lisa Valenzuela, Mike Sulprizio) through the lamentable play performed to celebrate thewedding of Toluca Lake’s Duke and Duchess (Morgan Rusler, Suzanne Jolie Narbonne).
This multitalented ensemble balances comic precision with enough textual integrity to prove itsclassical bona fides and capture the core of Shakespeare's take on the fickleness of human affection.But along the way no brow is too low to indulge, and if these players have offended it’s only becausethey’ve done their job so well.
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“A Midsummer Saturday Night’s Fever Dream,” Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive,Burbank. 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 4 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 7. $39.50$42.(818) 9558101 or www.falcontheatre.com. Running time: 2 hours.
Also July 1214 at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada,$35$50. (562) 9449801 or www.lamiradatheatre.com
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6/14/13 Review: A wacky, inspired 'Midsummer Saturday Night's Fever Dream' - latimes.com
www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-theater-review-a-midsummer-saturday-nights-fever-dream-at-the-falcon-theatre-20130611,0,4495745.story 3/4
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Seriously Off at 9:49 PM June 12, 2013"commedia dell’arteinfused"?!? Hey, I like the Troubies, but that is a real stretch. Back toschool, methinks...
Seriously Off at 9:47 PM June 12, 2013"<! /* Font Definitions */ @fontface fontfamily:Cambria; panose1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;msofontcharset:0; msogenericfontfamily:auto; msofontpitch:variable; msofontsignature:3 0 0 0 1 0; /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormalmsostyleparent:""; margin:0in; marginbottom:.0001pt; msopagination:widoworphan;fontsize:12.0pt; fontfamily:"Times New Roman"; msofareastfontfamily:Cambria; msofareastthemefont:minorlatin; msobidifontfamily:"Times New Roman"; msobidithemefont:minorbidi; @page Section1 size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; msoheadermargin:.5in; msofootermargin:.5in; msopapersource:0; div.Section1page:Sectiocommedia dell’arteinfused"?!? Hey, I like the Troubies, but that is a realstretch.
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6/14/13 Review: A wacky, inspired 'Midsummer Saturday Night's Fever Dream' - latimes.com
www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-theater-review-a-midsummer-saturday-nights-fever-dream-at-the-falcon-theatre-20130611,0,4495745.story 4/4
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