A Midsummer Night's dream is a mirror for couples and their foibles; Pym certainly was familiar with it, and The Bard allegedly was writing Romeo and Juliet at the same time, throwing in yet another comparison. I toss out the idea that in Fran Drescher's sitcom The Nanny, she and Mr. Sheffield are a Hermia/Lysander combination [with shades of Theseus and Hyppolita], while Niles and C.C. are the Pyramus and Thisbe couple that adds comic relief. The children are the Greek Chorus.
Mr. Sheffield is handsome as Lysander, but like Theseus, he takes himself a little too seriously. Remember Theseus saying he doesn't believe in old Greek Fables, yet he is one. Fran is like an Amazon because she engages in along struggle with C.C. over Max Sheffield. 's
C.C. plays Thisbe to Niles' Pyramus because while she may seem more like Lady Macbeth, she is still a little girl with a crush, a little socially inept, and not quite knowing who her true love is.
Pym would love the entire sitcom; it goes beyond Cinderella in celebrating unsuitable attachments. There are Shakespearean and Jane Eyre allusions throughout The Nanny; they even stage a hiliarious production of Romeo and Juliet. Broadway actors, real ones, also play bit parts in the show.
Truly, the play is still the thing.
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