A ‘Dream’ Amid Urban Decay

The Scene: The opening of Shakespeare Festival L.A., held Saturday night at the John Anson Ford Amphitheater.

The production of “A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream” was set in contemporary Los Angeles, and the set itself was a backdrop of post-riot urban decay.

The characters were dressed straight out of “Melrose Place,” and the Duke of Athens bore a strong resemblance to L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley. (However, there was no counterpart to former Police Chief Daryl Gates.)

The Charity: The Shakespeare Festival is Los Angeles’ only free public theater. Instead of paying admission, festival-goers are asked to bring canned food for the needy, which is matched two for one by the Vons Corp. and distributed through the Salvation Army.

The festival continues through Aug. 16 with performances at the amphitheater, the South Coast Botanic Gardens in Palos Verdes and the Citicorp Plaza in downtown L.A.

Who Was There: The festival’s producing director, Benjamin Donenberg; director Will Roberson; Bradley; actor Wil Wheaton and several hundred invited guests.

A Mid-Summer Night’s Nightmare--Not: Saturday’s oppressive heat and humidity broke before the performance, but midway through the show it began to mist and then to drizzle--a potential problem at an amphitheater. Guests got nervous, but the drizzle never turned to hard rain.

Dress Code: Extremely casual--shorts, sweaters and hip packs. When it started to rain, people balanced programs on their heads and ignored it.

Chow: A dessert buffet of chocolate cake, champagne and mineral water.

L.A. Being L.A.: The graffiti artists who decorated the set now have their own Hollywood agents, festival organizers said.

Quoted: According to Donenberg, the steady drizzle wasn’t really a problem.

“You should have been here Wednesday night,” he said. “It was pouring out here. And then on Thursday night there was a blackout, and we ended up performing with two lights working off a couple of gasoline generators. I guess my prayers to the weather gods worked.”

Triumphs: Tucked away in the Hollywood Hills just two minutes from the freeway, the John Anson Ford Amphitheater is a perfect and underused facility for an outdoor summer party.

Glitches: The bumper-to-bumper parking situation. People who stayed for the party ended up blocking the cars of others who wanted to go home when the show was over.