"A Midsummer Night's Dream" reads like Shakespeare's musings on how much the gods like to mess with mere mortals, for nothing but the fun of it.

In the version currently at The Players' Ring, Theseus (Todd Hunter), Duke of Athens, is about to marry Hippolyta (Michelle Kilkenny), a lady warrior whom he's conquered and who is not exactly thrilled about the union. Egeus (Jeff Kaplan) brings his daughter Hermia (Tana Sirois) to court. She and Lysander (Camden Brown) want to marry each other, but Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius (Matt Cost), who also wants her. Under Athenian law, Hermia must marry the man of her father's choice, choose "single blessedness" (i.e., celibacy in a religious order) or be executed. Lysander and Hermia decide to elope to the next town, beyond the reach of Athenian law. Hermia tells her friend Helena (Dinah Schultze), who tells her former lover Demetrius, who has abandoned her, in order to ingratiate herself to him. Hermia and Lysander flee into the woods, Demetrius follows the lovers, and Helena follows him.

It's in the woods that Oberon (Chris Curtis) and Puck (Kristan Raymond Robinson) decide to have a little fun with the mortals by sprinkling a dust in their eyes that will cause them to fall in love with whomever they first lay eyes on. Both couples are thrown into a tizzy, but it's when the pranksters play a similar trick on Titania, the Fairy Queen (Sarah Bailey, stepping in for an unwell Ashley Love), and she falls in love with a jackass-literally-that the real comedy begins.

Todd Hunter as Theseus seems almost bored as he throws about his kingly demands; his voice falls into a pattern that's easy to slip into with iambic pentameter, where the cadence fights the beauty of the language. Michelle Kilkenny as Hippolyta has little to say but finds moments of comedy; with her body language she subtly lets us know just how disinterested she is in her betrothed.

Tana Sirois, as the beloved, and then rejected, Hermia, is charming, if a little spastic at times, which can be attributed to the desperation of youth and the frustration of Hermia's situation. Dinah Schultze is equally desperate as Helena. When the two young men find themselves in love with her, she's been scorned for so long she's sure they and Hermia are further playing a trick on her. However, the tension between the two young girls seems repetitive rather than comic; the cat fighting goes on longer than necessary, which much to the delight of the older men in the audience but does little to urge the story forward.

Matt Cost, as Lysander, has all the passion and drive his character needs, but he, like many of his castmates, struggles with the difficult patterns of Shakespearean speech. Camden Brown, as the earnest and vehement Lysander, draws the audience to him with his devotions first to Hermia, then to Helena, then back again. Although his path changes a few times, he fully commits to whichever path is currently before him, with both hilarious and touching results.

Chris Curtis as the mighty Oberon chooses wisely to underplay the role, rather than compete with all the loudness and revelry around him. The result is a subtle, masterful wizard, with the quietness of his power making him all the more intimidating. Kristan Raymond Robinson as the devilish Puck takes a break from statelier, more elegant roles and doesn't waste the opportunity. She gleefully revels and rolls around on the ground and climbs up poles and ladders deftly; she's as graceful as a ballerina and as mischievous as a monkey.

The most impressive part of the performance I saw was Titania, the Fairy Queen, played by Sarah Bailey. Ashley Love, who usually fills the role, was ill, so Sarah learned all the lines and blocking in a single day to take over for a night, and it's quite a large part. Her courage is second only to the magnificence of her performance, which was spellbinding, commanding and eloquent.

The flowery sets, the simple Greek togas, and Chris Curtis' music all conspire to put us into an otherworldly space.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is at The Players' Ring, Marcy St., Portsmouth, through June 26, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, or $8 for students and seniors. Call 603-436-8123 for reservations or more information.