Brooklyn Center Presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM 10/17

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College opens its 2010-2011 Theater Series on Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 3pm with Aquila Theatre Company's production of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

"The classics made relevant with superb acting and clever staging."
-- The New Yorker

Set against a classical Athenian backdrop, Aquila Theatre Company's imaginative interpretation of Shakespeare's timeless comedy deals with the universal theme of love and its attendant complications: passion, lust, frustration, depression, confusion, and, of course, marriage. Aquila weaves a web of theatrical magic that will take audiences to the heart of an enchanted forest, the injustice of the Athenian court, and the political strife of the fairy kingdom. The plot focuses on the trials and experiences of two sets of lovers, the Fairy King and Queen and their servants, and a group of rude mechanicals attempting to stage a play for the wedding of the Duke of Athens. At the heart of the story is the Fairy King's servant, the impish Puck, whose magic creates an endless supply of mirth, mistaken identity, and absolutely ludicrous passions. This production's off-Broadway run was praised by The New York Times as "timely and pleasing... [a production that] soothes the eye and tickles the funny bone."

The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream includes Sarah Amankwah, Matthew Clancy, Howard Crossley, Andrew French, Jessica Tomchak, Alinka Wright, and Owen Young. The creative team includes Kenn Sabberton (director), Peter Meineck & Kenn Sabberton (set design), Heidi Buckingham & Louise Handford (costumiers), Peter Meineck (lighting design) and Nate Terracio (production manager).
A Midsummer Night's Dream is the first presentation of Brooklyn Center's 2010-2011 Theater Series, which also includes Cirque Le Masque: Carnivaleon Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 3pm and the new Gershwin musical 'S Wonderful on Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 3pm. Multibuys (any three or four performances) and Megabuys (any five or more performances) save up to 15% off individual ticket prices. Discounts are available for seniors, students, Brooklyn College faculty/staff/alumni, and groups of 15 or more.

About Aquila Theatre Company
Aquila Theatre Company was founded in London in 1991 by Peter Meineck and has been based in New York City since 1999. Aquila's mission is to make classical works accessible to the greater number, presenting a regular season of plays in New York, at international festivals, and tours to approximately seventy American towns and cities each year. The company is also dedicated to theatre arts education, producing four major initiatives: Workshop America, a nationwide program that provides an opportunity for people to share in the art of Aquila; Theatre Breakthrough, which brings America's schools to the stage; Shakespeare Leaders, an after-school program that enables inner-city students to perform the classics, and Page to Stage: Theater, Tradition and Culture in America, which aims to create an in-depth partnership between the library and the theater. For further information, please visit www.aquilatheatre.com.

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving 46,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools annually with its SchoolTime series. In recognition of its commitment to quality family programming, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts has been voted Brooklyn's Best Theater or Theater Group for Kids as part of Nickelodeon's 2009 ParentsConnect Parents' Picks Awards.

A Midsummer Night's Dream at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, 2900 Campus Road, Brooklyn
Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 3pm
Tickets: $27 ($30 at door)

Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org
Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1pm - 6pm
Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 33
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/BrooklynCenterforthePerformingArts

This tour of Aquila Theatre Company is made possible by a grant from Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are made possible in part with public funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for the 2010-2011 season is provided by: Target; JP Morgan Chase; Con Edison; Macy's Foundation; Brooklyn Community Foundation; the Mertz Gilmore Foundation; National Grid; TD Bank; the New England Foundation for the Arts; Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Health Plus; and the Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in the New York Community Trust by founders of The Reader's Digest Association. Additional support provided by CNG Publications, The Brooklyn Eagle, and WBGO. Backstage catering is graciously provided by Applebee's. Sheraton Brooklyn New York is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center's 2010-2011 season.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges generous support from the Members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York State Assembly and Speaker Sheldon Silver; Members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York State Senate and Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson; Members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York City Council and Speaker Christine C. Quinn; and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Kate Levin.

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