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Shakespeare Returns to Hartford Stage with
A Midsummer Night's Dream

Lisa Peterson Helms the Bard's Romantic Comedy

 

August 19, 2008/Hartford, CT ... Marking the beginning of its historic 45th season - and the 11th under Artistic Director Michael Wilson - Hartford Stage welcomes the return of Shakespeare with a magical new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The Bard's romantic comedy is being staged by Lisa Peterson (Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner), and runs at the Tony Award-winning theatre from August 28 through October 5.  Theatre veterans Johanna Day, Francis Jue, David Andrew MacDonald, and Everett Quinton lead the large ensemble cast.

In the play, Hermia loves Lysander and Helena loves Demetrius-but Demetrius is to marry Hermia.  The lovers take refuge in the woods with the feuding fairies, a bumbling acting troupe, and the mischievous Puck, armed with a potion capable of making anyone fall for the first person they set eyes upon-no matter how unsuitable.  Hold on to your heart ... Cupid is armed and dangerous and coming to Hartford Stage!  

To expand the appeal of Shakespeare to an even wider audience, Hartford Stage has designated Saturday, September 27 as Family Day for A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Concurrent with the 2:00 p.m. matinee of the play, age-grouped workshops run by Hartford Stage teaching artists will take place in the Hartford Stage rehearsal studios, while older family members attend the production in the theatre.  Family Day offers the chance for the whole family to get involved with Shakespeare and experience the excitement of this enchanting production.

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream is filled with exciting newcomers and well-known Broadway names.  Making their Hartford Stage debuts are Sanjit De Silva, Susannah Flood, Jake Lacy, and Christina Pumariega as the play's four young lovers. De Silva, as Lysander, has appeared Off-Broadway in Masked, Macbeth, and Measure for Measure; his television credits include Six Degrees, various Law & Orders and Jonny Zero.  Flood, who plays Helena, has been seen Off-Broadway in Okay, the recent workshop of Canary, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.  She has also performed regionally in Our Town, Memory House, Boom, Doubt, Measure for Measure, and The Cherry Orchard.  Lacy (Demetrius) has performed in regional productions of Two Gentlemen of Verona and Arcadia, and has appeared on Guiding Light.  Pumariega, who plays Hermia, has been seen Off-Broadway in All Eyes and Ears and The End.  Her regional credits include Real Beatlemaniacs and Macbeth.

Broadway veteran and Obie award winner Francis Jue makes his Hartford Stage debut in the roles of Puck and Philostrate.  Jue's Broadway credits include Pacific Overtures, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and M. Butterfly.  He has performed Off-Broadway in Yellow Face (Obie Award), The Winter's Tale, Hamlet, Pericles, Timon of Athens, King Lear, A Language of Their Own, Dream True, No Foreigners Beyond This Point, and Falsettoland.  Jue's television experience includes Law & Order: SVU and One Life to Live.

Johanna Day, Everett Quinton, and David Andrew MacDonald play the roles of Hippolyta, Egeus, and Theseus, respectively.  Day, also playing Titania, is returning to Hartford Stage, where she created the role of "Ann" in the world premiere of Edward Albee's Peter and Jerry.  She recreated the role for the play's New York premiere.  Ms. Day was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in Proof on Broadway.  Other theatre credits include Almost an Evening, The Rainmaker, and Carol Mulroney.  Her television credits include recurring roles on Law & Order and Judging Amy, and her film work includes The Exonerated and Unbreakable.  MacDonald, also playing Oberon, is making his Hartford Stage debut.  He has been seen on Broadway in Coram Boy and Two Shakespearean Actors, and appeared in the national tour of An Inspector Calls as well as the Off-Broadway productions of The Green Heart and A Night and Her Stars.  MacDonald's television credits include spots on Sex and the City, Law & Order, Another World, One Life to Live,and six years as Edmund Winslow on Guiding Light.  Quinton, also playing Quince, is also making his Hartford Stage debut.  He is the co-founder (with Charles Ludlum) of New York's renowned Ridiculous Theatre Company, where he played numerous roles and received multiple Drama Desk Awards and nominations.  His Off-Broadway credits include The Book Play; among his film and television appearances are roles on Miami Vice, Law & Order, Pollack and Natural Born Killers.  

Veteran actors Steven Boyer, Kathy Deitch, and Lucas Caleb Rooney all make their Hartford Stage debuts in the roles of Flute, Snout, and Bottom, respectively.  Boyer's credits include a run in the Broadway production of I'm Not Rappaport as well as numerous Off-Broadway and television appearances.  Deitch was in the original companies of Wicked and Footloose on Broadway and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and regional productions and national tours.  Rooney's credits include Country Girl and Henry IV on Broadway, a number of Off-Broadway performances, and appearances on television shows such as Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Guiding Light, and All My Children.

Rounding out the cast are eleven young performers, including seven Hartt School Junior Acting students and four local child actors. The child actors are Jordan Cyr, Delaney Jordan, Summer Raign Martin, and Andrew Shipman. The Hartt School students are Chelsea Farthing, Shaylan Skye Glejzer, April Glick, Nathan Johnson, Sal Mitsou, Alec Shamas, and Robert Patrick Sheire.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is directed by Lisa Peterson.  Peterson returns to the Hartford Stage after directing Breakfast Lunch & Dinner, Reckless, and Sueño.  Her recent credits include Mother Courage at the La Jolla Playhouse, Water and Power and Electricidad at the Mark Taper Forum, Ridiculous Fraud and Candida at the McCarter Theatre, The Rainmaker at the Arena Stage, Tight Embrace at INTAR, and Carol Mulroney at the Huntington Theatre Company. Peterson was the Resident Director at the Mark Taper Forum for ten years.  She has directed world premieres by major American writers including Tony Kushner, Beth Henley, Donald Margulies, Jose Rivera, Ellen McLaughlin, Mac Wellman, Polly Pen, Stephen Belber, Naomi Wallace, David Henry Huang, Luis Alfaro, Chay Yew, Bridget Carpenter, Annie Weisman, Alice Tuan, and many others.  Peterson is a graduate of Yale College and is a member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Drama Department.

The design team for A Midsummer Night's Dream includes scenic designer Rachel Hauck.  Hauck previously worked at Hartford Stage as set designer for the Lisa Peterson-directed Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.  Other set design credits include The Cataract, The Antigone Project, Where Do We Live, The Fourth Sister, Talking Heads, Tongue of a Bird, and The Square.  Costume design for A Midsummer Night's Dream is by Ilona Somogyi, making her Hartford Stage debut.  She has worked extensively in New York and regionally, and is on the faculty of the Yale School of Drama.  Lighting design is by Stephen Strawbridge, whose Hartford Stage credits include The Rivals, Hidden Laughter, Distant Fires, Twelfth Night, and Principia Scriptorae.  Strawbridge is a Princess Grace Award recipient.  Paul James Prendergast composed the original music for A Midsummer Night's Dream.  He also composed music for the Hartford Stage production of Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.  Prendergast's work as a singer/songwriter has been heard in films, recordings, and music venues nationwide.  Choreography is by Peter Pucci, whose Hartford Stage credits include The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, Summer and Smoke, 8 by Tenn, Macbeth, and Camino Real. Off-Broadway, Pucci has worked on Queens Boulevard (The Musical), People Be Heard, After Ashley, The Late Henry Moss, True Love, and Eyes for Consuela.

Tickets for A Midsummer Night's Dream are $23 to $66.  A limited number of $10 "Ten Spot" tickets are also available for all performances, making Hartford Stage among the most affordable entertainment options in Connecticut.  Discounts are available for groups of ten or more by calling 860-520-7244.  $25 Previewtickets are available for each preview performance from August 28 through September 3, and can be purchased by calling 860-520-5151 or by visiting hartfordstage.org.  What a Rush! half-price tickets to A Midsummer Night's Dream may be purchased, subject to availability, beginning two hours before each performance in person at the box office only.  Patrons must request What a Rush! tickets at the time of purchase to receive this discount.  Tickets for children and students are $10 off the full price when purchased in advance.  Students of Capital Community College may purchase one $10 ticket to A Midsummer Night's Dream upon presentation of their student ID at the Hartford Stage box office.  All discount programs are subject to availability and cannot combined with other offers.  Hartford Stage has wheelchair accessible seating, assistive listening devices and other amenities.  For more information, please call the Hartford Stage box office.  Hartford Stage is located at 50 Church Street in downtown Hartford with parking located in the MAT Garage, directly adjacent to the theatre. The theatre is accessible from I-84 and I-91.

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