I love Shakespeare,
the original gay poet, and
A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite play. Fairy king Oberon fights with his wife over a boy that they both want -- can you get any more explicit? Puck, the Lord of Misrule, fools around with four mortals, making them fall in and out of love at random. Meanwhile, some tradesmen are putting on a play of their own, about Pyramis and Thisbe, ancient Greek lovers who had to communicate through a wall (and they cast the wall).
Besides, Puck is usually naked, and the other male dancers clad in Elizabethan tights, complete with codpieces (unless they are impressively endowed without one).
There are two ballet versions. The 1962
A Midsummer Night's Dream, was choreographed by
George Balanchine, with music by Felix Mendelsson. It follows the basic plot for awhile, but then gets clogged down in a bizarre, heterosexist wedding dance.
The Dream (1964), choreographed by Frederick Ashton, discards the subplots to concentrate on Puck manipulating the love lives of fairies and mortals. It's considerably more homoerotic, as Puck grabs and fiddles with the male cast members, most of whom aren't wearing much.
They end up in heteronormative pairs: "Jack shall have Jill, all shall be well."
But until that moment, it's a wild ride.
In case you were wondering, the Pucks are: Mathias Dingman, Kyle Slade, Valentino Zuchetti, Lucas Hall, and Ramon Moreno.
See also:
Shakespeare, the Original Gay Poet; and
Midsummer Night's Dream: the Stage Versions.
Have you ever seen 'Were the World Mine'? It's a 2008 movie based on 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. The protagonist is the only openly gay student at an all male private school. The school's drama teacher recruits him to play Puck in the school's production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' cast in traditional Elizabethan English style of an all male cast. He finds a recipe for Puck's elixir from the play, the one that causes a person to fall in love with the first one they see, and uses it on various classmates, teachers, and other community members, making them fall in love with same-sex partners. It's actually pretty good.
ReplyDeleteNever saw it. Out here in the wilderness, we don't get to a lot of gay film festivals. But I'll look it up on Amazon.
DeleteBoomer, have you seen it yet? It really is worth a look. I think you'll like it.
DeleteSaw it on Amazon Prime. It's ok.
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