Last night I went to a performance of Midsummer Night’s Dream at Nichols Arboretum in Ann Arbor. It was absolutely
breathtaking.

For those not in the know, Nichols Arboretum, locally known as “The Arb”, is a hundred- acre park
smack dab in the middle of Ann Arbor. It’s cultivated, yes, and a bit organized, and there
are fire hydrants here and there, but it’s pretty fairly wild. It ranges from heavy woods
to riverbank to a valley with amazing vistas – and the play took place in all those places. You
see, when the scene changes, the scene changes. The audience gets up and hikes to the next
location, and the players often run along in their midst, and sometimes act whole extra scenes as
they go.

Entire scenes take place in gigantic old cypress trees. They’ve hired a troop of children, from
those almost too small to walk to teenagers, and painted them up as faeries. They hide in the
scenery, tittering throughout the performance, so you know that the woods have eyes.
Occasionally, they pelt the onlookers with grass and sticks, or hoot with noisemakers and faerie
wands. Puck was in triplicate – they had three young women in tatterdemalion to play him, and it
came off perfectly. Robin Goodfellow was a writhing, trilling mass of mischief, and seemed to be
everywhere at once.

The night I saw the performance, it rained heavily (and I mean heavily) two hours before
the first act. Almost magically, the clouds rolled back, and left The Arb in the lusty, golden
mist that only comes after an evening thunderstorm. Everything was coated in a thin, soft gauzy
haze of fog, and covered with dewdrops.

In addition to the help from Mother Nature, the actors were amazing, and completely willing to
fling one another around the scenery. It was easy to hear and see everyone on stage, which was
good, because facial expressions played a huge part in the acting.

There will be additional performances June 15 at 7pm, June 16th at 3pm. June 20, 21, 22 at 7pm
and June 23 at 3pm. Tickets are $10 at the Washington Heights entrance to the Arb. Given the
movies I’ve seen recently, your money will be far better spent here. Bottom line: If you’re
within driving distance of Ann Arbor, go. Go tonight, if you can. Bring everyone you know.