Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer Night's Dream

I have been living in New York since 2001, meaning five summers have passed. My desire of seeing Shakespeare in the Park has been decreased every year due to the difficulty of getting tickets. However, this dream has been fulfilled. Thanks to my friend, she and her friend were patiently waiting in line for these free tickets. We missed the Romeo and Juliet last time; therefore, my friend swore that this time she wouldn’t miss the second show—A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Looking at the pouring rain outside my windows, I was wondering if my friend would like to cancel and call it a night. I called her up. She insisted on going to see the show. Three of them were already waiting in front of the Delacorte Theatre. I was just the follower following their order. It was drizzling when I entered Central Park. Briskly walking, I stopped to catch my breath under the bridge. There was a man running behind me and stopped next to me. I could see water spot on his blue shirt. He must have walked in the rain for somewhat several minutes. I thought, “What the heck does he think? Walking out of the office without an umbrella when you wholeheartedly knew it was going to be raining.” Playing a nice girl, I was asking him with no knowledge of where he headed. “Would you like to go together?” I said. He was looking at me surprisingly and then replied with a smile on his face. “Oh, thank you very much. I am heading to the theater. Are you going that way too?” I, again, thought to myself, “Nah, that isn’t my destination. I just happen to love walking in the park when it rains. GDI. Of course, I am going to the theater too.” Well. I replied, “Yes. I am.”

We had small talk. I told him that I was very upset and mad at my friends. If it wasn’t for my friend’s sake, I would go home and stay in my cozy blanket. He also told me that his friends already there and waiting for him. Neither of us knew the direction to the theater. Therefore, we had to stop and looked for the sign. He was kind of following my lead even though he was the one who carried the umbrella. He worriedly asked, “Are you getting wet?” as it was his fault to force me to share the umbrella with him. I replied, “Don’t worry, I am already wet.”

We half walked half ran. At one point he was asking for my name. I thought he tried to be polite. I told him my name, on the other hand, I didn’t ask for his name since I didn’t see the point of knowing it. We were just pedestrian and I am too nice to let poor guy getting wet. Finally we reached our destination. I dropped him off where his friends were standing. I didn’t even recall if he thanked me or not. Honestly, I didn’t care. I hurriedly looked for my friends. They were on the other side of the theatre.

Starring at pouring rain, we were patiently waiting. They let us in around 8:30 and the show started around 8:45. I was impressed by the crowd. The seated were almost filled up even though it was heavily raining couple hours before the show started. The light and sound were great considering it was an outdoor play. Luckily, I read the story’s synopsis. Otherwise I would get lost in between the show. My English had become terrible that night. My friend’s boyfriend wasn’t pleased by the acting. His reason was that he has seen the different version which made him cry. People could interpret Shakespeare’s masterpiece into thousands different ways. No one is right or wrong. This production is very funny especially at the end when lower-class laborers performed a crude play in front of Theseus’ wedding. I was laughing very hard and momentarily forgot that I was shivering because of the cold weather.

Sorry people, taking photo are strictly prohibited.
Seriously, I think I could return home now. I have done almost everything here…