Synopsis

In the piazza before a grand renaissance house in the Tuscan countryside, preparations are underway for Duke Theseus' wedding. The father of Hermia arrives complaining that his daughter is in love with Lysandre and has no intention of going through with the promised marriage to Demetrius.

But Hermia's best friend Helena, who is in love with Demetrius, warns him of their plot. That night, when the lovers flee into the forest, Demetrius takes after them on his own bike, with a determined Helena pedaling in hot pursuit.

Bound for the same woods are a band of amateur thespians: five workmen from the village in search of a secluded spot to rehearse "The Most Lamentable Comedy, and Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe."

Unknown to lovers and thespians alike, their journey into the dark forest has brought them near the secret home of the fairies, where the fairy trickster Puck administers a powerful love potion that causes the lovers to mix and match with outrageous results.

Michael Hoffman, director
"At the beginning I just had an image of this fat little Puck riding through the Tuscan countryside on the back of a turtle. The rest of the film sort of spun out from that."

Actually, the inspiration for Hoffman's desire to write his screen adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" came from a performance of the play, in which he played Lysander. This production was staged with other dissidents from his university theater department in Boise, Idaho.

Michelle Pfeiffer, Titania

Titania is experiencing marital strife, and this makes her passion for Bottom more understandable. "Titania and Oberon are King and Queen so they have different rules to live by than Titania and Bottom do. I think that the relationship with Bottom is very liberating for her in its simplicity."

Kevin Kline

Academy Award winner Kevin Kline was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He studied piano at Indiana University's School of Music before becoming a student at the Julliard School of Drama and a founding member of John Houseman's The Acting Company.

Kline has aptly woven his career in and out of comedy (A Fish Called Wanda, Dave, French Kiss, In & Out), drama (Sophie's Choice), westerns (Silverado) and dramatic comedies (The Big Chill, Grand Canyon, Ice Storm).

For his manic Otto West in A Fish Called Wanda, Kline won the 1988 Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor. His long relationship with director Lawrence Kasdan began in 1983 with The Big Chill and they paired up for four films since.

An actor who loves the classics, Kline continues to act in theater during his busy film career. At the Circle in the Square on Broadway, Kline won rave reviews for his Captain Bluntschli in Shaw's "Arms and the Man," directed by fellow actor John Malkovich. Most recently, he starred in David Hare's adaptation of Chekhov's "Ivanov" at the Lincoln Center.

Michelle Pfeiffer

A world renown actress, Michelle Pfeiffer's career has included an array of interesting characters. Pfeiffer, raised in California's Orange County, first decided to pursue an acting career while attending Fountain Valley High School. On the advice of a friend, she entered and won a local beauty contest and, although she didn't win the title of Miss Orange County, she did get an agent.

Pfeiffer has received many accolades during her career including Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons and Best Actress for Love Field and The Fabulous Baker Boys, for which she also won awards from the New York, Los Angeles and National Society of Film Critics. Additionally, she received Golden Globe nominations for Married To The Mob and Frankie & Johnny.