Photo Flash: First Look At Hip To Hip Theatre's Production Of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM And RICHARD III

Hip to Hip Theatre Company has announced that their summer tour dates which will include performances in fifteen parks throughout Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, The Bronx, New Jersey and Long Island. The company's 2019 Free Shakespeare in the Parks tour runs July 24 - August 25.

Audiences will have a chance to enjoy the romantic comedic romp, A Midsummer Night's Dream (directed by S.C. Lucier), and the historic tragedy Richard III (directed by David Frederick Mold), under the stars. The two productions will perform in rotating repertory. Hip to Hip's popular interactive children's workshop "Kids & the Classics," will be offered thirty minutes before each performance. Audience members are encouraged to bring a blanket or low chair, picnic fare and enjoy a Shakespeare play in the open air. No tickets are necessary.

Artistic Director Jason Marr, discussed this season's play selection, "If you're going to produce something as dark and bloody as Richard III, you need something as light and fluffy as A Midsummer Night's Dream to balance the season."

Marr went on to share, "Both as a producer and as an actor, Richard III has hovered near the top of my "yet-to-do list" for years. It's never made the cut, because on some level the play doesn't quite sing for me. After thirteen years with Hip to Hip, and with my "yet-to-do list" getting shorter and shorter, it seemed time to take another look at Richard III."

He went on to say, "I came across the fascinating documentary, "The King in the Car Park," which tracks the exhumation and reburial of the remains of Richard III, which culminated in 2012. With the discovery of Richard III's remains, we now know that Shakespeare's portrait of Richard's deformity is grossly exaggerated. The exhumed skeleton reveals Richard had severe scoliosis, but it bears no suggestion that he was a hunchback with a withered arm and unequally sized legs. Hip to Hip's new radical adaptation of Richard III attempts to bridge the divide between the real man and the caricature the Tudors, aided and abetted by Shakespeare, perpetuated."

The repertory cast includes Leah Alfieri, Kendall Devin Bell, Katie Fanning*, Rebecca Wei Hsieh, Kurt Kingsley*, Tristan Land, Axel Marr, Bree Marr, Jason Marr*, Joy Marr*, Josh Miccio, Austin Nguyen, Anuj Parikh, Sophia Parola, Patrick Singer and Colin Wulff*.
*appears courtesy of Actors Equity Association

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Four young lovers escape the tyranny of the court to find love in a magical forest. On the same night and in the same forest, the king and queen of the fairies declare war on each other and a company of amateur actors meet to rehearse a play. See what happens when a mischievous sprite called Puck weaves their three stories into one.

Richard III
After a long civil war, England enjoys a period of peace under King Edward. But Edward's younger brother Richard, who helped him to the throne, grows restless in the shadows. Shakespeare's searing drama chronicles the bloody rise and fall of the last English king to die on the battlefield.

Kids & the Classics
"Kids & the Classics" is the companion piece to Hip to Hip's program of "Free Shakespeare in the Parks." This free interactive workshop is offered 30 minutes before every performance, and is designed for children ages 4 to 12. It gives children a chance to interact with the text by previewing the characters and situations and creating links between the text and their own lives.

2019 Performance Schedule

*Kids & the Classics, interactive workshop begins 30 minutes prior to each performance.

Wednesday, July 24 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Flushing Meadows Corona Park (@ the Unisphere)

Thursday, July 25 @ 8:00 pm - Richard III
QUEENS Cunningham Park (Union Turnpike & 196th Street)

Friday, July 26 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
BROOKLYN Fort Greene Park (Monument Steps)

Saturday, July 27 @ 5:00 pm - Richard III
MANHATTAN Jackie Robinson Park Bandshell (85 Bradhurst Avenue @ 148th Street)

Tuesday, July 30 @ 8:00 pm - Rain date

Wednesday, July 31 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
BROOKLYN Bushwick Inlet Pop-Up Park (50 Kent Avenue)

Thursday, August 1 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Crocheron Park (35th Avenue & Corbett Road)

Friday, August 2 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
BROOKLYN Fort Greene Park (Monument Steps)

Saturday, August 3 @ 5:00 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
STATEN ISLAND Alice Austen House (2 Hylan Boulevard)

Sunday, August 4 @ 5:00 pm - Richard III
QUEENS Socrates Sculpture Park (32-01 Vernon Boulevard)

Wednesday, August 7 @ 7:00 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
JERSEY CITY Newport on the Green (14th St & River Drive S.)

Thursday, August 8 @ 7:00 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS LeFrak City (59-17 Junction Boulevard, Corona)

Friday, August 9 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
QUEENS Voelker Orth Museum (149-19 38th Avenue, Flushing)

Saturday, August 10 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
QUEENS Gantry Plaza State Park (4-09 47th Road)

Sunday, August 11 @ 5:00 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Socrates Sculpture Park (32-01 Vernon Boulevard)

Tuesday, August 13 @ 7:00 pm - Rain date

Wednesday, August 14 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
QUEENS Sunnyside Gardens Park (48-21 39th Avenue @ 49th Street)

Thursday, August 15 @ 8:00 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Cunningham Park (Union Turnpike & 196th Street)

Friday, August 16 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Voelker Orth Museum (149-19 38th Avenue, Flushing)

Saturday, August 17 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Gantry Plaza State Park (4-09 47th Road)

Sunday, August 18 - 6:00 pm - Richard III
BRONX Van Cortlandt Park (Broadway & 245th Street)

Tuesday, August 20 @ 8:00 pm - Rain date

Wednesday, August 21 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
QUEENS Sunnyside Gardens Park (48-21 39th Avenue)

Thursday, August 22 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
QUEENS Crocheron Park (35th Avenue & Corbett Road)

Friday, August 23 @ 7:30 pm - A Midsummer Night's Dream
SOUTHAMPTON Agawam Park (25 Pond Lane)

Saturday, August 24 @ 7:30 pm - Richard III
SOUTHAMPTON Agawam Park (25 Pond Lane)

Sunday, August 25 @ 5:00 pm - Rain date

Hip to Hip, now in its 13th year, is dedicated to stimulating and developing interest in the theatre arts in underserved communities by providing free, family-friendly, professional productions of popular classics, and free theatre workshops for children, in public spaces. http://www.hiptohip.org

Photo Credit: Demelza Leffert

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