On Tuesday, July 19th, at 8 p.m., Guild Hall in East Hampton will present a rare chance to see Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, filmed by Julie Taymor, who has turned out a production that is visually breathtaking, funny, sexy and darkly poetic.
Renowned actor Bob Balaban will host the evening with special guest Director Julie Taymor. There will be a question and answer session after the film.
There is no other place like Guild Hall in the Hamptons. It is the premiere theater for the performing arts in all the Hamptons. During its $23 million renovation a few years back, the whole theater was dismantled and rebuilt precisely to its original specification, right down to the gilded painted ceiling. The air conditioning is superb and the acoustics are amazing. There is no better way to spend an evening in the Hamptons than seeing the high quality programming the dedicated staff at Guild Hall presents yearly.
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The cinematic experience was filmed during Taymor’s highly acclaimed inaugural stage production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Photo: Gerry Goodstein) |
This film production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, with cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (Argo, Frida) and music by Academy Award-winning composer Elliot Goldenthal, is so worth the nominal $25 fee. This immersive, inventive cinematic experience was filmed during Taymor’s highly acclaimed inaugural stage production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The feats of visual imagination are ingenious and plentiful, but beating at the center of the film is an emotionally moving take on the deeper human aspects of this beloved tail. Of all Shakespeare’s plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the most phantasmagorical, with fairies, spells and hallucinatory lovers.
“This day of midsummer madness that Shakespeare was riffing off of, is like any of those things in topsy-turvy. In most cultures there is at least one day where everything turns upside down,” explained Taymor. “What he did with this night is to put everybody into an unsafe place where anything can happen.”
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The production is visually breathtaking, funny, sexy and darkly poetic. (Photo: Gerry Goodstein) |
I personally believe this is a don’t miss opportunity if you are planning on being in the Hamptons that day. If you have the chance to alter your vacation schedule, I would do so just to attend.
Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street in East Hampton. For more information, call 631-324-0806 or visit www.guildhall.org.
