Genesius Guild's “A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Lincoln Park -- July 16 through 24.
Saturday, July 16, through Sunday, July 24, 7 p.m.
Lincoln Park, 1120 40th Street, Rock Island IL
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 July 16 through 24 run courtesy of the talents of Genesius Guild, its presentation – the comedy's first return to Lincoln Park in a dozen years – 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 A Midsummer Night's Dream is Genesius Guild veteran Jeremy Mahr, who helmed last summer's abridged production of Measure for Measure and has appeared in Lincoln Park in such classical offerings as Hippolytus and Much Ado About Nothing. With Mahr also serving as props designer alongside Genesius Guild's executive director Isabel Dawson, additional members of the creative team include stage manager Liz Sager; assistant stage manager Kayla Brix; costume designers Shannon Ryan and Courtney Wehmeier; fight and dance choreographer Lily Blouin; assistant technical director and set designer Riley Scranton; and lighting designer and technical director Andy Shearouse.
And with several members of Mahr's ensemble double-cast, Midsummer's roster of acting talent includes: Josef Bodenbender (Francis Flute and Mote); Michael Carron (Tom Snout and Cobweb); Mattie Gelaude (Egeus and Robin Goodfellow); Ben Graham (Nick Bottom); TJ Green (Demetrius); Mischa Hooker (Peter Quince and a Goblin); Emma Hughes (Helena); Erin Mahr (Piped Piper Goblin); Cynthia Odendahl (Hermia); Angela Rathman (Snug and Mustardseed); Joe Sager (Theseus and Oberon); Erica Seabloom (Robin Starveling and Peaseblossom); Calvin Vo (Lysander); and Sarah Willie (Hippolyta and Titania).
Genesius Guild's A Midsummer Night's Dream will be staged in Lincoln Park July 16 through 24, with all performances at 7 p.m., and donations encouraged for the free performances. For more information, visit Genesius.org.
