Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...It’s simply marvelous, and at times, laugh-out-loud funny, but for those of us who’ve been following Ekman, or at least the works of his which have been shown in Chicago, the last half hour of “Midsummer Night’s Dream” feels like more of the same. Elements from Ekman’s two original works for the Joffrey, “Episode 31” and “Joy,” which premiered just last season, reappear here: there’s a section of nearly-naked, hair down, coquettish pointe shoe dancing from the company’s women, and Hansol Jeong standing at the front of a smooshed pack of still naked dancers, who gaze, mystified, at the audience and each other. We saw that in “Joy.”"
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...But there’s no denying the enormous discipline and precise make-believe that went into this very wet dream. Staged by Preston McBain, Marie-Louise Sid Sylwander, and Joakim Stephenson, the 140-minute spectacle reminds me of what William S. Gilbert said to hide the fact that he fell asleep during a long oratorio by his famous partner Sullivan: “My dear Arthur, I was transported to another world.”"
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...Trust me, you will never experience anything quite like it. It is definitely not Shakespeare’s royalty and fairy-driven vision. Think of it more along the lines of a contemporary “Rite of Spring,” or in this case, a Rite of Summer, and a crazy dream-meets-nightmare that evokes the traditional Swedish celebration of the summer solstice – the longest day of the year, and one that clearly ignites a certain quality of playful, erotically charged exorcism."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Just as in dreams sexy sometimes careens in to creepy, the flocking nature of the dancers is at times humorous and other times an ominous portrayal of mindless group think. In this way, borrowing some of the mojo of Ingmar Bergman, Ekman takes a huge leap in to the obscure to capture the complexity of humanity and of our human foibles in this theatrical ballet, and all in the context of a party on the longest day of the year."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Ekman’s “Midsummer” is a triumph of vision, imagination and masterful stagecraft. And yet I found it wanting on two counts: one, the dancers of the Joffrey Ballet, while wholly committed and clearly having a splendid time, seemed woefully underutilized. In large-scale productions, human movement runs the risk of being overshadowed by splashy set design; in “Midsummer,” dance most often took a visual backseat to trees suspended upside down and set pieces descending into the orchestra pit. And two, I kept finding myself reaching for something in the production beneath the surface: a base element, a theme less weak and idle, a beating heart."
