The Tempest Ladies to Present A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at Chernuchin Theatre

The Tempest Ladies, the world's premier all-female, role-switching Shakespeare theater company, will present a new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Performances for this limited engagement begin April 22, 2015 at Off Broadway's Chernuchin Theatre.

The Tempest Ladies take on one of Shakespeare's most beloved plays with a dark and grotesque spin. Follow six Edwardian women into a dark forest at dusk, where they shed the confining clothing of their time and pay homage to nature while exploring multiple roles they would never be able to play in real life. The Queen and King of the Faeries are estranged, creating chaos among the elements, and four lovers are locked in a battle of unrequited love. Lose yourself in this dream-like world as The Tempest Ladiestake you on a macabre and enchanting journey through the woods in one of Shakespeare's most magical plays.

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream features Julie Baber (Austin Pendleton's The Children's Hour, Hudson Warehouse's King John, Hivemind Theater's Three Sisters, The Drilling Company's The Boys Next Door), Stella Berg (Upright Citizens Brigade, Paradise Gained, The Taming of the Shrew, Cashel Byron's Profession, Aesop's Fables), Stacey Bone-Gleason (Unbroken Circle, Macbeth, The Baristas, Into the Woods; Discovery Channel's "Celebrity Ghost Stories"), Laura Borgwardt (Chicago's School at Steppenwolf , co-founder of CO/LAB Theater Group) , Katherine Elliot (Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade, Dog Sees God, The History of the Devil) and Julia Giolzetti (Drunk Shakespeare - Macbeth, Theatre for the New City's American Soldiers, HERE's T.A.B., PINK!).

A Midsummer Night's Dream is directed by Holly Hart (Northstar Playmakers' Dinner With Friends, Syracuse University's Disco Pigs and Arabian Nights) and produced by Berg, Elliot and Rebecca Heineman. Set design is by Peter Hart. Lighting design is by Brigitte Barau. Costume design is by Maya Graffagna and Jamie Walsh. Linnea Gregg is the stage manager.

The Tempest Ladies was founded in 2008 while the original six members were studying at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Grouped together in the same scene for their final performance, they realized they had a united passion for the Bard as well as a particular affinity towards playing roles they wouldn't typically be cast in, namely the male roles. Following graduation The Tempest Ladies was funded by Syracuse University to bring The Tempest to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They have since performed The Tempest and Macbeth in Istanbul, Turkey as well as in New York City. They made their Off Broadway debut with The Taming of the Shrew and will continue to perform Off Broadway as well as internationally.

Performances will be held on Wednesday, April 22 at 8pm; Friday, April 24 at 8pm; Saturday, April 25 at 3pm and 8pm; and Sunday, April 26 at 3pm. Tickets ($18) can be purchased athttp://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1382019.