Take the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood, populated by real-life, yet delightfully exaggerated, personalities of the movie scene. Add a sophisticated German director with an artistic vision, a couple of misplaced supernatural beings, and one of William Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies of all time, and you get Ken Ludwig’s Shakespeare in Hollywood, in which Max Reinhardt’s problematic 1934 production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” -- sure to be box office poison -- is further complicated when Oberon and Puck, fresh from A Wood Outside Athens, find themselves transported from the land of legend and classical myth all the way to Hollywood and in the middle of a suspiciously familiar story. Oberon may be the all-powerful King of the Fairies -- but he has never dealt with ambitious starlets, prying gossip columnists, or the odious Will Hays, the all-powerful King of Censorship. And Puck may be an old hand at jolly mischief, but he has encountered nothing like the cool sunglasses and hot beauties of Hollywood! When the enchantment of the silver screen meets the magic of Fairyland, all merry hell breaks loose, and we are treated to transformations, chase scenes, and the kind of havoc that only that certain love-juice can wreak. Shakespeare in Hollywood is a supernatural screwball romp, full of entertainment, and even a little bit of education.
Shakespeare in Hollywood guide sections
