A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Plays South Coast Repertory 1/21-2/20

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of the Bard's most joyous comedies, and director Mark Rucker is taking that joy and running with it in South Coast Repertory's moon-drenched production, which runs Jan. 21 through Feb. 20 on the Segerstrom Stage.

And just as Shakespeare combined characters from three different worlds (royalty in the court of ancient Athens, tradespeople from the Elizabethan era and fairies from Renaissance folklore), Rucker is borrowing from different times and places to create a visually stunning and fantastical world.

Elijah Alexanderportrays Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Susannah Schulman is Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. The Duke's rigid views cause a foursome of confused young lovers-Hermia (Kathleen Early), Lysander (Nick Gabriel), Helena (Dana Green) and Demetrius (Tobie Windham)-to flee for the forest, where Alexander and Schulman turn up again as Oberon and Titania, King and Queen of a band of mischievous fairies. Because the fairy royals are engaged in a battle royal, things are thrown out of joint for a band of roguish actors, led by a buffoon named Bottom (Patrick Kerr), which sets the stage for a fairy prankster named Puck (Rob Campbell) to create chaos in the night. But by morning all is well again, leaving harmony not just among the characters but within and between whole worlds.

The A Midsummer Night's Dream creative team includes Cameron Anderson (set design), Nephelie Andonyadis (costume design), Lap Chi Chu (lighting design), John Ballinger (original music and music director) Ken Roht (original music and choreography), Kimberly Egan(sound design) and Jamie A. Tucker (stage manager).

Deutsche Bankis the Corporate Honorary Producer and Laurie Smits Staude is the Individual Honorary Producer. The Segerstrom Stage season media partners are KOCE-TV and KCRW 89.9.

TICKETS: Can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or by visiting the box office at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Performances begin Jan. 21 and continue Feb. 20. Ticket prices range from $20 to $66. Low-priced preview performances are available Jan. 21- 27. Opening night is Friday, Jan. 28, and press night is Saturday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m.

TIMES: Previews are Friday and Saturday, Jan. 21 - 22, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 25 - 26, at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Jan. 27, at 8 p.m. Regular performances are Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m., with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 25 years of age and under, educators, seniors and groups of 10 or more. There will be an ASL-interpreted performance on Saturday, Feb. 19, at 2:30 p.m.

POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS: Wednesday, Feb. 2, & Tuesday, Feb. 8; Discuss the play with members of the A Midsummer Night's Dream cast during free post-show discussions led by South Coast Repertory's literary team.

INSIDE THE SEASON: Saturday, Feb. 5, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. $12; Inside the Seasonis a series of interactive seminars that provide a comprehensive inside look at the theatrical production process. Each two-hour session features a set tour and a question-and-answer period with creative personnel working on the production. Inside the Season is offered on select Saturday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 each and can be purchased online at www.scr.org, by phone at (714) 708-5555 or at the Box Office. (Tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream are sold separately.)

LOCATION: South Coast Repertory is located at 655 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, at the Bristol Street/Avenue of the Arts exit off the San Diego (405) Freeway in the Folino Theatre Center, part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Parking is available off Anton Blvd. on Park Center Drive.

COMING UP: The Prince of Atlantis (NewSCRipts reading, Jan. 10), Lucky Duck (Feb. 11 - 27), The Weir (Mar. 13 - Apr. 3).

ABOUT SCR: Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, under the artistic direction of David Emmes and Martin Benson, is widely recognized as one of the leading professional theatres in the United States. Founded in 1964, SCR is committed to theatre that illuminates the compelling personal and social issues of our time, not only on its stages but through its education and outreach programs. While its productions represent a balance of classic and modern theatre, SCR is renowned for its extensive new play development program, including the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Of SCR's more than 450 productions, 117 have been world premieres with subsequent stagings achieving enormous success across America and around the world. SCR-developed works have garnered eight Pulitzer Prize nominations, with Margaret Edson's Wit winning the prize in 1999 and David Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole in 2007. Located in Costa Mesa, California, in 2002 SCR opened the Folino Theatre Center, an expanded three-theatre complex that includes the 507-seat Segerstrom Stage, the 336-seat Julianne Argyros Stage and the 94-seat Nicholas Studio.