By Doug Norris/Arts & Living Editor

WESTERLY - So far in 2005, William Shakespeare has endured a worse year than Martha Stewart.

It wasn't that long ago - as recently as last year, in fact - that summer and Shakespeare in Rhode Island went together like clam cakes and chowder. Trinity Repertory's Shakespeare Project produced two edited versions of the Bard's plays every summer. Mixed Magic Theater's Shakespeare-on-the-Beach in Wickford was a seasonal staple. And Colonial Theatre established a reputation as the best of the Ocean State's Shakespeare-in-the-Park presentations, with annual appearances at Wilcox Park since 1991.

But this year Trinity dropped the Bard from its summer calendar, the Wickford gig was canceled and Colonial Theatre was nearly forced to abandon its annual production because of financial considerations.

Zounds. Egads. Lord, what fools these mortals be.

In the nick of time, the cavalry arrived and Westerly's tradition was continued for at least one more season. So, if you need your Elizabethan iambic pentameter fix, you still have time to enjoy one of the true pleasures of a Rhode Island summer, watching one of the master's great plays under the stars (and occasional clouds) at bucolic Wilcox Park.

This year the Colonial Theatre chose to perform "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the comedy that kicked off the Westerly festival 15 years ago. It's a wise selection, since opportunities for audience-friendly rollicking, frolicking humor abound. There isn't much of a set on display, surely a consideration of budget woes, but a play set mainly in a forest and performed in a park doesn't really need one. And, while all of Shakespeare's plays are flexible enough to be staged in an astounding variety of styles and genres, perhaps none offer as much leeway as "Midsummer." Its timeless blend of fantasy and common humanity lends itself to the purest spirit of play.

Director Harland Meltzer takes advantage of its pliant nature by introducing an element of "'50s, '60s, surf be-bop style," according to Flav Martin, who composed the original score and performed his own work prior to the production. Bottom, the true comic hero of the play, even makes a reference to Don Ho's "Tiny Bubbles."

So, no, this isn't your ancestor's "Midsummer," but the Colonial Theater's spirited production has more than a few highlights, including laugh-out-loud moments in the most crucial scenes: in the forest when a fairy potion goes awry, causing turmoil among two pairs of young lovers; when Bottom the Weaver is magically transformed into a donkey and becomes an object of affection for the Fairy Queen; and the climactic play-within-a-play sequence, when the rude mechanicals perform dreadfully, but with heartfelt sincerity, in front of the royal court.

Westerly's own Marion Markham plays Puck (and Philostrata). Long associated with Colonial Theatre's Shakespeare productions, Markham has excelled over the years in some of the best female roles written by the Bard, including Beatrice ("Much Ado About Nothing"), Portia ("The Merchant of Venice"), Adriana ("Comedy of Errors") and Gertrude ("Hamlet").

Her take on the spritely fairy is energetic and amusing, complete with deranged and disturbed laughter that accompanies every exit.

Paul Romero does a nice job in the play's best role. His Bottom the Weaver channels Jackie Gleason to the point where you could almost imagine his performance as a dream sequence in a lost episode of "The Honeymooners."

All of the laborers, in fact, shine in the play-within-a-play scene as Jim Egan (Francis Flute), Chris Perrotti (Snug the Joiner), Jamie Dufault (Robin Starveling) and Edward Franklin (Peter Quince, who also takes turn as Egeus) spoof theater convention and pretension and help give new meaning to the prolonged death scene.

While there are good performances throughout, Jennifer Terrell gives one of the most impressive turns as Helena, the originally scorned, then stalked, lovelorn woman.

As always in an outdoor performance, there are distractions to contend with, from moths to truck rumbles to sirens to a particularly good blues band playing somewhere nearby.

If you go, bring bug spray. Life may be a dream, as Shakespeare suggests, nearly four centuries before The Drifters, but the mosquitoes are real.

The Colonial Theater's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will take place through July 31, Tuesday through Sunday, at 8 p.m. at Wilcox Park in Westerly. Call 596-7909. The performance is free, but donations are welcome. Bring your own seating.