Cast and Creative Team Set for for A ROCKIN' MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Skylight Music Theatre
This reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic comedy fuses rock-and-roll with the timeless themes of love, mischief, and transformation.
Skylight Music Theatre has revealed the cast, musicians, and creative team for the professional world premiere production of A ROCKIN’ Midsummer Night’s Dream, conceived and directed by Artistic Director Michael Unger, with a score by Eric Svejcar (Spring Awaking, Ernest Shackleton Loves Me, Dennis DeYoung’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame at Skylight), and as part of World Premiere Wisconsin. This bold reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic comedy fuses rock-and-roll with the timeless themes of love, mischief, and transformation, promising an evening of laughter, love, and a little bit of magic for audiences ages 6 and up to enjoy. Performances run April 10-26, 2026.
“Bringing this production of A ROCKIN’ Midsummer Night’s Dream to Skylight is an honor I neither take lightly, nor could be more excited about,” says Artistic Director and show’s conceiver, Michael Unger. “This show was originally created for a theatre company I started in Newtown, CT with a local father in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. Using the arts to help heal young members of that community was as meaningful as any work I’ve seen in the arts. This show was also performed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shortly after the Parkland, FL tragedy. All of those young artists and their families forever have their DNA embedded in this musical. To be re-working the show for Skylight with many of my original creative team and a fantastic new cast and set of designers and technicians presents a phenomenal opportunity. We have taken, arguably, Shakespeare’s funniest and most magical play, and added an original score that is a fun, eminently hummable, and hilarious romp. This show promises to thrill all who love Shakespeare and make converts those who may fear Shakespeare.”
In this bold new take on Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, journey from ancient Athens into an enchanted forest where lovers, mischievous spirits, and feuding royalty collide in a magical, rock-and-roll reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Blending Shakespeare’s original text with a dynamic, genre-spanning original score, this modern musical adaptation is full of humor, heart, and theatrical mischief.
This production celebrates a new partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Peck School of the Arts (PSOA), with 12 UWM student performers in the cast. Additional partnerships include Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission (MADACC) and Riley’s Sandwich Co., who support the production’s “Pawditions,” and the search for a single canine performer who will be included in the production.
This one-of-a-kind production features prominent Skylight favorites Jackey Boelkow as Hippolyta (Fiddler on the Roof; Waitress), Joe Picchetti as Theseus (Amadeus; Frankenstein), Frankie Breit as Oberon (The Spitfire Grill), Stephanie Staszak as Titania (Frankenstein; School of Rock), Jesse Weinberg as Egeus (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat), and Zach Thomas Woods as Peter Quince (Amadeus; The Full Monty). Saum Seyed, making his Skylight debut, joins the adult cast, returning to A ROCKIN’ Midsummer Night’s Dream, having originated the role of Bottom in 2014 at NewArts, Newtown, CT (Off-Broadway's Disaster!).
Making their Skylight debuts are UWM PSOA students as the four young Athenian lovers. Serena Vasquez appears as Hermia (UWM’s Bright Star and H.M.S. Pinafore; Legally Blonde at Racine Theatre Guild), opposite Lucas Drube as Lysander (Forte Theatre Company’s The Secret Garden and Hello, Dolly!; UWM’s Dames at Sea and Bright Star). Logan Grace takes on the role of Helena (UWM’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Bright Star), alongside Nathaniel Contreras as Demetrius, whose credits include Northern Sky Theater, Forte Theatre Company, and UWM productions of Bright Star and H.M.S. Pinafore. Rounding out the ensemble is youth performer Lainey Techtmann as Puck, previously seen in Lovabye Dragon at First Stage and A Christmas Carol at Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Joining all of the above are eight additional UWM students and seven additional youth performers.
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