“The course of true love never did run smooth.”

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” can be summed up entirely in this quote.
A tale of lovers and of fairies, the production at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre brings the timeless tale to life and it was enjoyed by a group of IVCC students during an English department trip on March 7.
Hermia is engaged to marry Demetrius but loves Lysander instead. By the laws of Athens, if she does not marry Demertius (her father’s choice for her), she has two options: Become a nun or die.
Hermia’s best friend Helena loves Demetrius, but he only has eyes for Hermia.
The situation causes them all to escape to the woods, where they encounter the fairies. Titania and Oberon, the fairies’ rulers, are fighting. To teach his wife a lesson, Oberon has his servant Puck enchant her to fall in love with the next thing she sees. When a troupe of traveling players come to the forest to rehearse, one will catch Titania’s eye.
The setting of the production was stylized to be Victorian era, due to the concept that the director chose for the play.
The whole story was outlined by the Freudian ideas on dreams. Freud himself made an appearance at the beginning.
As the scene changed from Athens to the forest, Freud transformed into Puck.
Puck was not played as either male or female, rather the character was left adrogynous.
Ledo was the highlight of the production, bringing amazing energy and fire to her role.
However, no actor was below par. The four young lovers were wonderful and  and  were amazing in their dual roles (Hippolyta/Titania and Theseus/Oberon).
The band of players were hysterically funny and worked well as a unit. I would give this production a full five stars.