The Public Theatre’s free Shakespeare in the Park follows last month’s tumultuous staging of “Julius Caesar” with its antithesis, a high-spirited rendition of the seasonal classic, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” This is the first time they’ve staged it at the Delacorte since 2007’s production featuring Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Martha Plimpton.
This diversely cast production showcases some directorial choices by Oskar Eustis that are not often made — among them an older woman as Puck (an impish Kristine Nielsen, with a whoopee cushion); a blinged-out couple of color portraying Theseus (Bhavesh Patel) and Hippolyta (De’Adre Aziza); and a
mixed-race couple to play Oberon (Richard Poe) and Titania (Phylicia Rashad, who has discreetly removed mention of her tenure on “The Cosby Show” from her bio.)
Winnie McCroy 