COT’s Modern Twist
Ron and Tanya, known to some as Oberon and Titania, are preparing to throw a party to celebrate Ron’s birthday at “Fairy Queen” a night club in sultry Las Vegas. The party planning comes to halt when Tanya discovers Ron flirting with one of the club’s dancers. In a haphazard attempt to fix the blunder, Puck (the club owner) offers Ron a mysterious juice from a cactus flower to renew Tanya’s love. The concoction does as promised, but cupid’s arrow has missed its mark. The magic potion finds its way into several unwitting hands causing lovers’ eyes to wander, lines of sexual orientation to blur, and hilarious chaos to arise. Shakes, a drunken poet, stands readily by to trade his sonnets for drinks and give his unsolicited advice to the lost lovers.
The witty, clever and naughty libretto, adapted from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is performed in English and the song “Hush, No More” is simple, brilliant and a lullaby. The Fairy Queen is brilliantly conducted by Jory Vinikour and the music of the Restoration is enchantingly performed by the Haymarket Opera Orchestra. Immediately at the overture, I knew this production would be a pleasure to hear with much of it played on instruments of that age.
