‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Theater review

It’s not totally a dream.

Theatre for a New Audience opened its gleaming $69-million theater in Brooklyn on Sunday with a fresh take on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Director Julie Taymor steers the revival of the classic rom-com in her first staging since the debacle that was “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

Shakespeare’s pixie-dusted play was chosen as the 34-year-old company’s inaugural show in its new digs partly because the story includes the blessing of a house. There’s lots of love in the air, but the production is a mixed blessing — visually stunning but verbally stunted.

On the plus side, Taymor lets her imagination run wild and creates striking stage pictures. A bright white mansion conveys Athenian splendor. O’Keeffe-like flowers bloom in high-def projections as the plot moves into the woods. In a “Lion King”-like nod, dancers crowned by deer heads tiptoe through the trees.

Billowing fabric — and there’s enough to fuel a season of “Project Runway” — is the show’s signature element. Puck, who’s one yoga-nimble sprite, descends from the rafters thanks to trousers with remarkably long inseams.

That’s classic Taymor — a director unafraid of daring, and potentially perilous, moves.

And in the most beautiful and unforgettable moment, a fairy queens floats on an enormous cloth cloud and disappears into the sky. It leaves you wondering: How’d they do that?

But back on earth, the audience is asking another question: What’d they say?

Over the play’s 2 3/4 hours, there are more blurred lines than a Robin Thicke concert. Speeches come out mush-mouthed or colorless from veterans with classical training and rookies alike.

There are, of course, exceptions. As a sexy and serene Titania, Tina Benko speaks with regal clarity. And Max Casella, who’s great fun as a blue-collar Nick Bottom, skillfully tawks the tawk — even under a donkey’s head.

Being a Taymor show, it’s no ordinary mask. Casella makes the mouth move with wires to match his lines. It makes for an amusing moment in a fitful “Night.”

jdziemianowicz@nydailynews.com