Alabama Shakespeare Festival Opens 2023-34 Season With A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Alabama Shakespeare Festival presents Shakespeare's classic comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Rick Dildine Sept. 14 - Oct. 1 on the Festival Stage.

Dildine brings Shakespeare's timeless tale to life in a dazzling production filled with music, magic and mayhem. One fateful night as the King and Queen of the Fairies find themselves engaged in a war of wills, the veil is lifted between the world of mortals and the world of magic. The king's mischievous servant, Puck, sets out to do his master's bidding, but chaos ensues as four unsuspecting lovers and a band of bumbling performers are caught in the mayhem.

Dildine's take on this classic romantic comedy tells the story through the eyes of a boy, who has escaped to his attic and brings the whimsical world and its fun-filled characters to life with his imagination.

"It is a story about the need to love and be loved in return. It's an adventure of the heart," said Dildine. "Audiences can expect a world that is full of delight and magic."

Portraying the strong-willed Queen of the Fairies, Titania, is ASF newcomer Mia Ellis. Ellis has been seen regionally in Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Ragtime, and The Glass Menagerie. Chauncy Thomas will play the spiteful Fairy King, Oberon. Thomas has been seen at ASF in The Tempest and Macbeth and regionally in Much Ado About Nothing and The Winter's Tale.

Joining the cast is Benjamin Bonenfant as the king's spritely servant, Puck. Bonenfant was previously seen in the title role of Macbeth at ASF in 2022. Returning to ASF after playing Romeo in Romeo & Juliet is Matt Lytle as Bottom.

The four lovers who find themselves caught in the whirlwind of magic and chaos are Jayne McLendon as Helena, Louis Reyes McWilliams as Lysander, Pete Winfrey as Demetrius, Sigrid Wise as Hermia.

Completing the cast is Muhammed Ali, Rachel Arianna, Jo Brook, Ben Cherry, Katelyn Crall, Matthew Benenson Cruz, Michael Grieve, Griffin Isbell, Asa Moates, Sage Newman, Scott Page, Zack Powell, Woodrow Proctor, Greg Thornton, Harry Thornton, Oriana Lada, and Madelaine Vandenberg.

The production team bringing this whimsical world to life includes fight choreographer Paul Dennhardt, scenic designer Jeff Behm, costume designer Dottie Marshall Englis, lighting designer John Wylie, projections designer Paul Deziel, sound designer Melanie Chen Cole, associate sound designer Andrew Lynch, voice and text coach Santiago Sosa, stage manager Brenna Bishop and production assistant Brooke Nicole Morgan.

Ticket prices start at $26. To purchase, call 334.271.5353, visit the ASF Box Office (Monday - Saturday, doors open at 12:00 p.m.), or purchase online at ASF.net. Evening performances begin at 7:00 p.m.; matinees begin at 2:00 p.m.

Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the State's theater, builds community by engaging, entertaining, and inspiring people with transformative theatrical performances and compelling educational and community programs. From its founding in a high school auditorium in Anniston in 1972 to its designation as the State Theater of Alabama in 1977 to the stunning $21.5 million performing arts complex in Montgomery (built in 1985), ASF has been a leader in the performing arts throughout the state, region and country. As a beloved Alabama arts institution, ASF broadens the cultural identity of the South by producing classics, Shakespeare, contemporary plays, musicals, theatre for young audiences and exciting new works. Since its inception, ASF has provided education programs to more than one million students; annually, SchoolFest, a student-matinee program, presents high-quality theatrical experiences to nearly 35,000 students.

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