Riverside Theatre's “A Midsummer Night's Dream" at Lower City Park -- June 12 through 28.
Friday, June 12, through Sunday, June 28
Riverside Theatre Festival Stage, Lower City Park, 200 Park Road, Iowa City IA
One of the most deservedly beloved of all titles in the William Shakespeare canon, the magical, pastoral romance A Midsummer Night's Dream enjoys a June 12 through 28 Riverside Theatre presentation, its performances in Iowa City's Lower City Park reuniting audiences with an iconic work enjoyed for centuries by audiences of all ages.
In this classic comedy by the Bard, the lord of Athens, Egeus, wants his rebellious daughter Hermia to marry the Athenian gentleman Demetrius, but Hermia refuses, given that she's actually in love with the Athenian Lysander. The pair decide to elope, confiding their intentions to their friend Helena. However, as Helena is secretly in love with Demetrius, she tells him of Hermia's plan hoping to win his affections, and that night, all four lovers set out into the forest. Meanwhile, a group of Athenian tradesmen known as the Mechanicals, led by Peter Quince, are planning to perform a play in celebration of the Duke's wedding, and are rehearsing their epic tale The Tragedy of Pyramus & Thisbe in the same forest.
Elsewhere in that same pastoral locale, the fairy king Oberon sends his Puck-ish servant Robin Goodfellow to find a magic plant needed to cast a spell on the queen Titania. When squeezed onto the eyes of someone asleep, the plant's juices cause them to fall in love with the first creature they see when they wake up. Oberon consequently uses the juice on Titania ... and she won't be the last character to suffer/enjoy its effects, one of whom is a Mechanical who gets transformed into a literal ass. A masterful, romantic, and endlessly delightful work, A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most popular and enduring creations, and has been adapted over the years for film, television, musicals, operas, radio plays, and ballets.
Directing Riverside Theatre's annual outdoor Shakespeare is the company's producing artistic director Adam Knight, whose other recent presentations in Iowa City include Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Lifespan of a Fact, and this past spring's world premiere of The Fiancé. With original songs for the produced composed by Mary Jane Knight and Keegan Colletta Huckfeldt serving as choreographer, additional members of Midsummer's creative team include: scenic designer Robert Sunderman; costume designer Heather Klar; lighting designer Lowden Flower; sound designer Tyler Salow; props designer Stephen Polchert; intimacy director Carrie Pozdol; fight choreographer K. Michael Moore; verse coach Kathleen Johnson; stage manager Melissa L.F. Turner; assistant stage manager Jordan Jones; costume associate and wardrobe head Chelsea Prestien; costume assistants Hannah Oldham and Joni Sackett; production assistant Sammi Lewis; and head electrician and board operator Victoria Wojdan.
Among director Knight's 18-person ensemble, three are members of the national Actors' Equity Association: Charles Fraser (Nick Bottom), Jaye Piper Rosewell (Obersom/Theseus), and Adam Stonebrook (Demetrius). And with Quad Cities favorite Jeremh Mahr making his Riverside Theatre debut as Mechanical Tom Snout, the gifted Midsummer cast is completed by: Mackenzie Elsbecker (Hermia); Randy Jackson-Alvarenga (Lysander); Lillian Johnson (Mustardseed); Kathleen Johnson (Snug); Elijah Jones (Peter Quince); Mary Jane Knight (Titania/Hippolyta); Dale Leonheart (Helena); Joseph Lepire (Francis Flute); Janette Luu (Robin Starveling); Deucalion Martin (Puck/Philostrate); K. Michael Moore (Egeus); Asher Nehring (Cobwseb); Christina Sullivan (Moth/Lady in Waiting); and Kaia VanLeeuwen (Peaseblossom).
A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed on the Riverside Theatre Festival Stage in Iowa City's Lower City Park, with Thursday through Sunday performances at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, and more information is available by calling (319)259-7099 and visiting RiversideTheatre.org.
