Hartford Stage Announces Cast and Schedule Changes for A Midsummer Night’s Dream
August 28, 2008/Hartford, CT … Hartford Stage announced today a casting change and a scheduling adjustment for the Tony Award-winning theatre’s 45th season opener, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Lisa Peterson. Francis Jue, who was to play the role of Puck, sustained a back injury during rehearsal; the physical demands of the role as imagined for this production require his replacement. The role of Puck will now be played by Danyon Davis.
To accommodate this cast change, as well as the sophisticated technical demands of the production, the August 28 evening performance and the August 31 matinee performance have been canceled. Patrons holding tickets for those dates will be rescheduled into performances later in the run. Previews will begin on August 29 and the play will officially open as previously scheduled on Friday, September 5. Press performances now begin September 5.
“These changes in the preview schedule will allow us the additional rehearsal time to bring our audiences a truly spectacular staging of Shakespeare’s most enchanting romantic comedy,” said Hartford Stage Artistic Director Michael Wilson. “We are extremely excited about Lisa’s innovative direction of the play. I believe this will be a production Hartford audiences will be talking about for years to come.”
Danyon Davis previously appeared at Hartford Stage in 12 Volt Heart at the 2004 Brand:NEW Festival of New Work. Other credits include Six Degrees of Separation, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Guthrie Theatre and regional appearances in Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry V, The Bungler, and The Cider House Rules.
Tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 860-527-5151 or by visiting www.hartfordstage.org. The production runs through October 5. A specific schedule of performances can be found on the website; for more information, call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151.
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