SHAKES IN THE CITY: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM Unveils Performance Schedule
Performances will run from July 19–August 14, 2025.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Jul. 01, 2025
Chicago Shakespeare Theater will present Shakes in the City: A Midsummer Night's Dream, with free and accessible programming in neighborhoods across Chicago, July 19–August 14, 2025. Shakespeare’s dreamiest romantic comedy is brought to vibrant new life with 20 free performances in green spaces and at neighborhood festivals and events. In the second year of the annual free Shakes in the City initiative, audiences of all ages can join Puck and his feisty fairy band for Shakespeare at his most whimsical and fun, packed into just 45 minutes.
A quartet of love-sick young people are joined by a motley crew of theatricals, a fairy King and Queen in an epic showdown, and a talking donkey to boot. Delight in the exhilaration and hilarity of young love as the chaos of magic and enchantment turns the world upside down. Adapted and originally staged by CST Artistic Director Edward Hall and directed by Christopher Llewyn Ramirez, this Midsummer treat now comes to Chicagoans across the city after a wildly successful run played for students this winter.
Hall shared, “Taking this vivacious, energetic, and life-affirming comedy onto the streets and into the neighborhoods of Chicago is a dream for Shakespeare’s Dream. I am so looking forward to renewing our relationship with the many different communities of Chicago, a city that explodes with summer energy and life whenever the sun shines and people gather.”
The acting ensemble features Nate Cheeseman (Oberon/Peter Quince), Blake Hamilton Currie (Lysander), Jaeda Lavonne (Titania/Starveling), Olivia Pryor (Hermia/Snout), Alex Benito Rodriguez (Demetrius/Flute), Brenann Stacker (Puck), Grace Steckler (Helena/Snug), and Issy van Randwyck (Bottom). Along with Hall and Ramirez, the creative team also includes scenic designer Alyssa Mohn, Costume Designer Janelle Smith, sound designer and composer Forrest Gregor, and stage manager Rita Vreeland.
Shakes in the City will engage with 16 neighborhoods this summer: Albany Park, Bronzeville, Chesterfield, Chinatown, Englewood, Garfield Park, Pilsen, Portage Park, Pullman, Sauganash, South Chicago, South Lawndale, South Shore, Streeterville, West Pullman, and Wicker Park/Bucktown.
This year’s Shakes in the City initiative is only possible through the generous support of our donors and board members Ray and Judy McCaskey, Richard Porter and Lydia Marti, Gary and Virginia Gerst, and Sheli Z. and Burton X. Rosenberg, with additional support from Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks and Peoples Gas Community Fund.
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