According to Optimist’s Managing Director Susan Scot Fry, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an exceptional gateway drug to Shakespeare.” It makes sense, then, why so many theaters are bringing the show to stage this year, including Optimist Theatre for its sixth season of Shakespeare in the Park. “Midsummer seems to go in waves and we knew there would probably be other productions going on at the same time. It’s such a familiar play, but we’re all doing it a little bit different. We are super supportive of all the other people doing it and happy that there are multiple opportunities for people to see this. We’re all in it together and we want everybody in the community to have a great time and experience it—one format or another will click with somebody.”
Optimist’s Midsummer is uniquely set in 1967 during the Summer of Love and the social phenomenon of Haight-Ashbury. Director Ron Scot Fry says, “One of the really important things Midsummer is about is the intersection and conflict among three different worlds. I think this setting is a good lens for looking at the way the different worlds interact because those different worlds were very distinct and interacted in some really interesting ways in the ’60s. It’s a wonderful century experience that easily connects with the different styles of the time. And it’s just fun!”
For those who don’t especially like waiting in line for this free performance at COA Youth and Family Centers’ Selig-Joseph-Folz Amphitheater in Kadish Park, Optimist is offering about 20 spots out of the 200 available for each performance to be reserved for a minimal donation of $50. “You’re not buying a ticket by any stretch,” says Susan. “You still have to bring your own chair or blanket. We’re really about the show being free, but this is a little nod to the fact that we do need to raise some money to continue with Shakespeare in the Park.” The company has started a Friends Group as well, which is an excellent non-monetary way to get involved and support this Milwaukee theater.
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs July 9-12 and July 16-19 at Kadish Park (adjacent to 909 E. North Ave.) Lines begin forming around 6 p.m. and the house opens around 7 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call 262-498-5777 or visit optimisttheatre.org.
Theater Happenings:
The Marcus Center of the Performing Arts (929 N. Water St.) presents Motown: The Musical July 7-12, which features more than 40 hits from Diana Ross and The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations and many more. The show also includes three new songs written just for this production by Berry Gordy and Michael Lovesmith. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit marcuscenter.org.
Robert Boles directs Willy Russell’s modern classic Educating Rita at Third Avenue Playhouse, featuring Drew Brhel and Katherine Duffy. This story about a woman’s determination to change her life runs July 9-25 at 239 N. Third Ave., Sturgeon Bay. For tickets, call 920-743-1760 or visit thirdavenueplayhouse.com.
Umbrella Group Theatre presents These Shining Lives by Melanie Marnich, a story based on true events of the remarkable women who fought back against The Radium Dial Company. The show, directed by Mallory Metoxen, runs July 9-19 at 255 S.Water St. with talkbacks held Sunday, July 12 and Thursday, July 16. For tickets, call 414-278-0765 or visit nextact.org/rental-events/shining-lives.
Billed as an ideal summer musical for the entire family, the Richard Rodgers Award-winning Opal shares the story of an aristocratic girl who becomes orphaned and her rediscovery of the light of hope and home. Acacia Theatre Company’s show runs July 10-July 19 at the Concordia University Todd Wehr Auditorium (12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon). For tickets, call 414-744-5995 or visit acaciatheatre.com.
Theatre Gigante begins its 2015-2016 Studio Series with an evening of animated films by Ladislaw Starewicz featuring music by Little Bang Theory, who will perform everything on children’s instruments and toys. Show runs two nights only, Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11, at 8 p.m. at 706 S. Fifth St. with a suggested donation of $15. Call for reservations at 414-961-6119. Seating is limited. For additional information, visit theatregigante.org.
Theatre de l’Ange Fou, a modern movement theater company founded by the husband and wife team Steven Wasson and Corinne Soum in 2010, presents the couple’s new physical performance duet “Memories of Dust” and the films The Penelope Complex by Steven Wasson and Cousin Jules by Dominique Benichetti. The White Church Theatre Project 2015 Summer Season runs July 11-Aug. 16 at Wyoming Valley Church, 6348 State Road 23, Spring Green. For more information, call 815-441-8828, email infoschool@angefou.co.uk or visit thewhitechurchtheatre.org.
