‘Midsummer Night’ Is Warm, Breezy

The enduring popularity of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum--back for its third annual run--is easy to understand. In a word, it’s fun.

Judiciously pruned to family viewing length, Ellen Geer’s rowdy, accessible staging preserves the complexity in Shakespeare’s classic comedy while finding ingenious ways to physicalize and naturalize the text (though sometimes sacrificing strict adherence to scansion). Even the potentially labored Act 5, with its built-in theatrical parody, fairly zips along.

Despite their silliness, the giddy, love-struck youths at the story’s center play their feelings for real; Katie Dawson’s Hermia is particularly poignant, while Thad Geer’s swaggering Bottom isn’t afraid to make a jackass of himself under the affections of the Fairy Queen, Titania (Melora Marshall).

The outdoor canyon backdrop makes an ideal set, with characters running along mountain trails and dashing across bridges in their frenzied confusion. Still, nighttime performances could benefit from more creative lighting effects than Pete Parkin’s bright, warm-toned illumination, which looks too much like daylight.

* “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. Saturdays, 4 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Ends Sept. 15. $15. (310) 544-3723. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes.