Start with an original recipe by playwright August Strindberg and add the following ingredients: an excellent translation by Sweden born Anne-Charlotte Harvey, the creative interpretation of director Kirsten Brandt, the complex scenic design of David Weiner, Mary Larson's delightfully eccentric costumes, David Lee Cuthbert's lighting and projection designs, and Paul Peterson's sound design. Pour these into that cauldron of cutting-edge theater called Sledgehammer, and the product is an enticing, almost comprehensible work: A Dream Play.
While the Hindu God Indra didn't have a daughter, Strindberg invented one to come to earth to observe the strange events of the day. This is a fragmented dream, many events highly stylized and choreographed in a mad sort of way. Written just over a hundred years ago, with a translation begun in the eighties, A Dream Play incorporates idiomatic English, which the translator assures us is virtually a literal interpretation from the original Swedish. Janet Hayatshahi is Indra's daughter. She enters down a ramp which runs the length of the audience area. The ramp is lowered to the edge of the stage as she speaks to Indra during her descent.
One does not come to a Sledgehammer production expecting Arsenic and Old Lace. The stage is dominated by a huge projection screen, which, along with the music and effects, brings dimension to the many and varied scenes. Add to this tall wings that swing out and a huge turntable with three different sets, and Strindberg's chaotic dream becomes a theater reality.
The large cast includes Janel DeGuzman, Celeste Marie Martinez, Walter Murray, Tristan Poje, Patrick Seick, Kim Strassburger, David Tierney, and Ruff Yeager as well as Ms. Hayatshahi. With dream elements toppling one upon another rapidly, the talented cast is constantly, seamlessly, changing roles, costumes and characters. A Dream Play is an experience that is felt as much as it is heard and seen.
