Orlando Shakes’ ‘Midsummer’ a beautiful, energized dream

There’s a bit of extra magic in Orlando Shakes’ production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” onstage at the Walt Disney Amphitheater at Lake Eola Park. And it has nothing to do with fairies or charms.

The magic is there in the comic scenes of Peter Quince’s little band of laborers struggling to put on a play. As they bumble their way through a tragedy, turned to comedy by their ineptitude, there’s something glorious in what they are doing: It’s the sense that the arts will prevail, as well as the human need to experience the arts, no matter the circumstances.

Obviously, in a year in which the arts industry has been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic — and many have gone a year or more without experiencing live performance — Quince’s merry little band has special resonance.

So does this “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which marks Orlando Shakes’ return to in-person audiences after a series of recorded productions streamed on the internet.

Director Jim Helsinger has suitably energized his cast so there’s a momentum that works with this lean 100-minute telling of the tale.

The only noticeable drawback: The combination of that energy and plot propulsion at times leaves the quadrangle of young lovers shouting at each other in stretches that could use more vocal variety.

But, as a whole, the energy works in this story of mismatched lovers, even as the inherent misogyny of Shakespeare’s 16th-century comedy becomes increasingly off-putting. The fairy king Oberon is mad at his queen because she won’t do as he asks. An Athenian nobleman is mad at his daughter because she won’t marry the man he prefers; he’d prefer she be dead than disobey his command.

At least, that’s just a quick setup for the silliness that follows.

The park amphitheater is perfectly suited to evoke the play’s dreamlike quality, aided mightily by Denise R. Warner’s flowing costumes and Bert Scott’s enchanting scenic design — a design that works in tandem with Philip Lupo’s delicately cascading lighting.

The lighting design, by the way, played a gorgeous trick Friday night — until the stage lights suddenly transformed to create the play’s magical forest, I didn’t even realize the sun had set.

“Midsummer” has a large cast, but it’s grounded for the Shakes by Timothy Williams, whose resonant voice gives Oberon his authority — and a ferocious edge. (Britt Sandusky’s effects-laden sound design helps in that regard, too.) Philip Nolen expertly makes would-be actor Bottom endearing through his bloviating.

As mischievous Puck, Greg Pragel has a childlike charm that plays well against Oberon’s fierceness.

The four young lovers all have their own charms, with Christopher Creane and Wildlin Pierrevil engagingly playing lovesick fools. But the funniest bit is the faceoff between an outraged Helena (Janice Munk) and Hermia (Trenell Mooring).

The cast playfully acknowledges the pandemic precautions that keep the performers separated on stage, perhaps once or twice too often — but their maintaining-distance choreography adds to the dreaminess. And it serves as a reminder that even in dark times, the light of the arts will find a way.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Length: 1:40, no intermission COVID-19 precautions: Mandatory masks for audience; physically distanced, outdoor seating

Where: Walt Disney Amphitheater in Lake Eola Park, 195 N. Rosalind Ave. in Orlando

When: Through April 17

Cost: $22 and up

Info: OrlandoShakes.org