Shakespeare's comic tale of star-crossed lovers, strolling players and magical beings is lovingly re-imagined in an all-new interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, set in present-day New York City. Presented by A.M.L. Entertainment, Inc. and directed by Jacquelyn Honeybourne, the show will be performed at the Milagro Theatre in the Clemente Soto Velez Education and Cultural Center, located at 107 Suffolk Street, beginning December 3rd.
"It is really important to me to make New York City, and Central Park in particular, an integral part of the story," Honeybourne explained. "Grounding the piece in a time and place not often seen. Helping with this blending of illusion and reality, much of the set will consist of recycled materials, the costumes of the fairies will be made from tin cans, and the soundtrack will reflect a more contemporary and country feel."
Lysander & Hermia are two young lovers on Manhattan's Upper East Side. But Hermia's political power-broker mother, Egea, wants her to marry Demetrius, who has long been infatuated with Hermia. To avoid her machinations, the young lovers take refuge in Central Park while they make plans to leave the city forever. But Demetrius won't take no for an answer and sets out to find Hermia for himself. Tagging along with him is his former lover Helena, who has self-esteem issues, but still loves him even though he dumped her for Hermia.
As the lovers and would-be lovers move among the hills and trees of the park, other creatures begin to make themselves known: two warring groups of magical beings disguised as homeless people, one of which is led by Oberon, who has planned comic revenge on his straying wife Titanna. As Lysander & Hermia flee from Demetrius, they run headlong into the trap that Oberon and his dimwitted servant Puck have planned for Titanna. Add into the mix a troupe of actors with menial day jobs who are rehearsing in the park in the hopes of being hired to perform at the Greek ambassador's wedding, and what follows is a lesson on the power, blindness and the ultimate reaffirming quality of true love in all its forms, and how anything can happen, especially on a New York City Midsummer Night where there's magic in the air.
The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream features Katie Booze-Mooney, Graham Harrison Burk, Michelle Burns, Barrie Golden, Michael Lutton, Rebeca Miller, Josh Odsess-Rubin, Sarah Pullman, Will Reid, Michelle Silvani, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey, Emilie Soffe, Katie Stults and Alice Wiesner.
A graduate of Washington University in Saint Louis, Jacquelyn Honeybourne specializes in directing re-imagined classics and new works in New York. Some of her recent credits include Casino (adaptor/director), Phaedra (adaptor/director), Paradise, The War Zone in My Bed: A One-Woman Show, Lil' Heroes, and Canker Sores and Other Distractions. She is an artistic associate with Nora's Playhouse as well as The Looking Glass Theatre in New York City where she is also an acting instructor.
A.M.L. Entertainment Inc. is a full service entertainment company which takes pride in its ability to adhere to the entertainment industry in many different aspects. Past theatrical productions include The Confession, The Third Step and When It Rains. Upcoming projects (in addition to A Midsummer Nights Dream) include What Say You? at the Producers Club in November, Accidents Will Happen, A House Full of Dust and FML, all in 2010. For more information go to www.amlentertainment.net
Running through December 13th, A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed at the CSV Milagro Theatre, located at 107 Suffolk Street (between Delancey and Rivington Streets) on the Lower East Side. Show times are Thursday-Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets are $18.00, $15.00 for students and seniors. Reservations: 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com. Information:
www.reimaginedclassics.com.
