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>>> Julie Taymors A Midsummer Nights Dream

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (Julie Taymor). 144 minutes. Opens Friday. Rating: NNNN See listing.

Like most theatre critics, Ive seen so many productions of A Midsummer Nights Dream that just hearing the title can put me to sleep. Julie Taymors film adaptation of the new production she mounted last year at Brooklyns Polonsky Shakespeare Center brings the magic back to the Bards play. Its enchanting.

The design is simple but stunning, from the opening image of a bed being raised aloft by a tree, to held bamboo poles standing in for a forest, to makeup and lighting that make the fairy world otherworldly.

The lack of A-list celebrities in the cast ensures that the focus stays on the story. All four of the young lovers are attractive and good at playing comedy. Even better are the Rude Mechanicals, headed by veteran character actor Joe Grifasis Peter Quince, the honking New Yawk swagger of Max Casellas Nick Bottom and the sweet sincerity of Zachary Infantes Francis Flute.

Best are the Oberon and Titania of David Harewood and Tina Benko, whose imperiousness and chemistry are off the charts. And flitting around everyone is Kathryn Hunters ageless, androgynous Puck, whos as flexible as a Cirque du Soleil performer and as -beguiling as a ringmaster.

I have some quibbles with the tailor character being played as a flaming gay stereotype. And two of the young lovers have problems with diction. But this Dream is still out of this world. 144 minutes.

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