Mauckingbird Theatre Company and Hedgerow Theatre are celebrating summer with Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” July 24-Aug. 11.
Shakespeare’s whimsical tale of young love and mischievous fairies will get a reimagined look this summer in Delaware County. Hedgerow Theatre Company partners with Mauckingbird Theatre, the Philadelphia company known for innovative, affordable, gay‐themed productions, and inviting audiences to leap into the magical world of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Mauckingbird Artistic Director Peter Reynolds -who returns to Hedgerow after directing “Tartuffe” and “The World According to Snoopy” -reconceives Athens as an elite boarding school adjacent to a forest full of enchanted flowers, fluid identities, and expansive possibilities.
In partnership with Hedgerow Theatre, Mauckingbird Theatre Company makes its return to production since pausing operations during the pandemic with Shakespeare’s classic tale of young love, magic, mayhem, hilarity, and discovery. Celebrating our LGBTQIA+ community, Director Peter Reynolds offers a joyful 90-minute version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as a modern tale set in an elite boarding school, where four students find themselves in a supernaturally heightened love tangle.
Hermia is being forced by her father to marry Demetrius, a young man in her school. But she is already in love with Lysander, a young woman in her class. Meanwhile, her best friend -a young man named Helena- is smitten with Demetrius. When the four schoolmates run off into the forest, full of mischievous fairies and beguiling visions, mayhem and surprising discoveries meet them at every turn.
Reynolds directs a cast of 20 and design team, many of whom identify within the LGBTQIA+ community. The Athenian students are performed by Brandon Tyler (as Demetrius), James Maloney (as Helena), Katy Robinson (as Lysander), and Nicole Lawrie (Hermia), returning to Hedgerow last seen as Sandy in Beginners. Those in power in the Athenian worlds are Craig Storrod (as Theseus), Juliette Kaitlyn Cheng (as Hippolyta), and Matt Tallman (as Egeus). The Fairy world is commanded by Niambi Fetlow (as Titania) and Vanessa Sterling (as Oberon), served by Alisia Alvarez (as Moth), Lane LaVonne (as Mustardseed), Mersha Wambua (as Cobweb), and Yana Vilchynskaya (as Peaseblossom). Mischievously bridging the Fairy and human world is Nero Eddings (as Puck). The infamously comical “rude mechanicals” are played by August Hakvaag (as Bottom), Elliot Colohan (as Flute), Jia Weingard (as Snout), Kevin Lara (as Snug the Joiner), Madelin Madamba (as Quince), and Michael Kozloski (as Starveling).
If You Go:
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” runs July 24-Aug. 11. Tickets cost $35 for adult tickets and $20 for students and youth (under 18 years old), plus fees, and are available online at www.hedgerowtheatre.org.
- Previews begin July 24 at 7pm
- Opening Night July 26 at 7pm | post-show reception
- PRIDE Reception Aug. 1 at 6pm | 7pm performance
- Audio description by Beth Feldman Brandt available Aug. 10 at 2pm
- Relaxed performance on Aug. 10 at 2pm
- Ticket link
Hedgerow Theatre Company is located at 64 Rose Valley Rd. Information on Mauckingbird Theatre Company can be found here: www.mauckingbird.org.