Photo Flash: Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks Kicks Off 2014 Summer Season with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 21, 2014
Chicago Shakespeare Theater (CST), the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District and Boeing partner to present the annual citywide summer tradition, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks. This summer, 26 performances of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream travel to 18 neighborhood parks across Chicago, FREE FOR ALL, now through August 17, 2014. Scroll down for photos from the event so far!
From Hamilton Park and Garfield Park Conservatory to the South Shore Cultural Center and Gage Park, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks activates communities and breaks down barriers to arts participation, giving Chicagoans direct access to their City's cultural treasures. In its third year, Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks returns to 18 communities, truly establishing the program as a Chicago summer tradition and deepening relationships with neighbors, community leaders and local businesses.
The citywide tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream is made possible by a renewed civic, cultural and corporate partnership between Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the City of Chicago, Chicago Park District, Boeing and BMO Harris Bank. Since the inception of the Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks program, more than 27,000 Chicagoans have taken advantage of free performances in their communities as a direct result of this partnership.
On each stop of the summer tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a specially equipped truck rolls into the park, a stage unfolds, and a company of professional actors shares the delight of Shakespeare with families and neighbors of all ages. Jeff Award-winning director David H. Bell has re-imagined this perennial favorite into an acrobatic and riotously entertaining delight for all ages. In this popular Shakespearean comedy, a quartet of mismatched lovers, a gaggle of hapless actors and mischievous sprites cross paths with the king and queen of the fairies, entangled in their own domestic dispute. Audiences will be transported to an extraordinary wood brimming with paramours and possibilities where the inexplicable magic of falling in love-and the wonder of waking up from the sweetest of dreams-is discovered.
The Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tour of A Midsummer Night's Dream kicked off at Gateway Park at Navy Pier on Friday, July 18. Parks scheduled to be visited, rain or shine, include: Sunday, July 20-Garfield Park Conservatory; Tuesday, July 22-Tuley Park; Wednesday, July 23 & Thursday, July 24-Dvorak Park; Friday, July 25 & Saturday, July 26-Loyola Park; Sunday, July 27-Washington Park; Tuesday, July 29-Riis Park; Wednesday, July 30-Piotrowski Park; Thursday, July 31-Gage Park; Friday, August 1-Hamilton Park; Saturday, August 2 & Sunday, August 3-Frank J. Wilson Park; Wednesday, August 6 & Thursday, August 7-Humboldt Park; Friday, August 8 & Saturday, August 9-Welles Park; Sunday, August 10-Columbus Park; Tuesday, August 12-Marquette Park; Wednesday, August 13-Ridge Park; Thursday, August 14 & Friday, August 15-South Shore Cultural Center; Saturday, August 16 & Sunday, August 17-Eckhart Park.
Performances Tuesday through Saturday begin at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday performances begin at 4:00 p.m. (The Garfield Park Conservatory performance will begin July 20 at 3:00 p.m.). For more information, see www.chicagoshakes.com/parks.
Photo Credit: Chuck Osgood
Fairy King and Queen Oberon (Nathan M. Hosner) and Titania (Lanise Antoine Shelley) rule over the mysticAl Woods
Transformed into a donkey by a fairy enchantment, Bottom (Bernard Balbot) becomes the object of Titania�s (Lanise Antoine Shelley) affection
Mischievous Puck (Steven Lee Johnson) casts a spell
Bottom (Bernard Balbot, at center) eagerly leads the Mechanicals (left to right: Michael Finley, Justin Cornwell, Wesley Daniel, Don Forston, Max Fabian) in putting on a play for Theseus� nuptials
A quartet of mismatched lovers leads to chaos in the woods. From left to right: Hermia (Tiffany Yvonne Cox), Lysander (Ryan Imhoff), Helena (Amanda Catania) and Demetrius (Ryan Hallahan)
Fairy Queen Titania (Lanise Antoine Shelley) ascends to the stage, supported by her fairy attendants Michael Finley and Justin Cornwell
Mayor Rahm Emanuel poses with the cast backstage at the Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT�S DREAM
The sun sets on the cast of the Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks production of William Shakespeare�s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT�S DREAM
Audiences of all ages can enjoy William Shakespeare�s popular comedy A Midsummer Night�s Dream, touring to eighteen neighborhood parks throughout Chicago, now through August 17, 2014
The first weekend performances of the 2014 Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks tour at Gateway and Garfield Conservatory Park shared A Midsummer Night�s Dream with nearly 3,500 Chicagoans
Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks is championed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as the inspiration for the Night out in the Parks program -- presenting 1,000 free cultural events through the Chicago Park District
Comments
Videos