Shakespeare still succeeds

The Blair production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was a box-office smash: selling more tickets than last year's fall production of "A Tale of Two Cities" although it did not sell as well as the spring musical, "Guys and Dolls."

The play house was full during the final weekend and earned a standing ovation in its final show on Saturday November 12.

The coordinator of stage crew, Dr. James Distler, said the play drew a crowd of 120 people on Thursday, 350 on Friday, and 500 people on the last Friday and Saturday performances. He says that these numbers might be a "little conservative," but he was very proud of the crowds on the last weekend, which he described as "tight but not sold out."

Blair Performing Arts T-shits, which come in red, black, and white variations, are on sale for $10 in the School Store. For cast and crew, new t-shirts made specifically for "Midsummer Night's Dream" are available at the Ritz Camera in Burtonsville Plaza for $14.

Both Kelly Newman, the director of the Blair plays, and Distler are very proud of the show's success. Distler is especially proud of the set, which he describes as deceptively simple. He also compliments the lighting and sound crew who stayed at school until after 10:00 pm for a week prior to opening night.

Newman attributes the success of the play to the general desire for comedy after the September 11 tragedy. "People were really in the mood to laugh now," she says.

Distler believes that the large crowds were due to the actors' superior ability to sell Shakespeare and make it entertaining to modern audiences. "The kids made it really funny," he says. "They really got into it, by the last show all inhibitions were up."