A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Simon Helberg, Glenne Headly, Hector Elizondo, Stacy Keach, David Krumholtz, Tara Barr, Jamie Bamber

Shakespeare combined his love of theater with Greek mythology and the supernatural to create what is arguably his most playfully imaginative work. From love potions to bizarre transformations to the unforgettable play-within-a-play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a non-stop delight, and remains one of the milestones of the Bard’s canon.

Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in February 2013.

Adapted for radio and directed by: Martin Jarvis

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring:

Jamie Bamber as Oberon

Tara Barr as Hermia

Janine Barris as Peaseblossom and First Fairy

Erin Bennett as Moth and Second Fairy

Brendan Bradley as Lysander

Chris Butler as Theseus

Kyle Colerider-Krugh as Egeus and Robin Starveling

Sue Cremin as Hippolyta

Héctor Elizondo as Peter Quince

Logan Fahey as Francis Flute

Glenne Headley as Titania

Simon Helberg as Demetrius

Stacy Keach as Nick Bottom

David Krumholtz as Puck

Danny Mann as Snug

Jon Matthews as Cobweb and Mustardseed

André Sogliuzzo as Philostrate and Tom Snout

Kira Sternbach as Helena

Associate Producer: Myke Weiskopf

Recording Engineer, Editor And Sound Designer: Wes Dewberry

Mixed by Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood

Original Music by Mark Holden with Matt Starr and Wes Dewberry

Live Sound Effects: Jeff Gardner

Public Domain (P)2013 L.A. Theatre Works

A very Americanized production

I guess the setting is Athens, GA - Regional accents kick in rather jarringly right from the first lines and one almost distracting puzzle is trying to guess where each actor is pretending to be from (Is that Texan I hear? And there's Alabama) Still, it's a breezy production, albeit one with minimum poetry - It's also great fun to hear Stacy Keach, once renowned for his epic performance as Hamlet in Central Park, chew up the aural scenery as Bottom - Thank you Audible for including a cast list, something that's often missing in Audible pages

A Fun Way to While Away an Afternoon

Despite the comedy and the rom-com ending, Shakespeare manages to weave social criticism into his work. All of the performances were good, except for the director's choice for Chris Butler to voice Theseus as a southerner. That choice I don't quite understand, and the dissonant accent distracted me from the other actors' work.

great narration!

The different voices really help in following the story. We listened to this in the car with our teens and they enjoyed it!

Great performance

I read along with a PDF I found online. Great to become more familiar with Shakespeare’s famous works.

An Unbeatable Performance of a Legendary Piece

The voice actors really brought the play to life. You won't just hear people reading the script; they truly take on the mantle of each character and understand the essence of the lines.