(HOBOKEN, NJ) -- BEGINNING JULY 22, Mile Square Theatre (MST), Hudson County’s premiere professional theatre company, will produce William Shakespeare’s beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Set in the 1950’s, in the rough and tumble world of the Hoboken waterfront, Mile Square Theatre revives its critically acclaimed 2007 production of Shakespeare’s comedy of teen love, magical fairies, and clownish mechanicals. MST Artistic Director Chris O`Connor (Art, Scapin,) will direct the project, which features MST Associate Artistic Director Matthew Lawler (House of Cards, God’s Pocket with Philip Seymour Hoffman) as Bottom. Also joining the cast is Dillon Heape (American Conservatory Theatre) as Oberon, Aaliyah Habeeb (Mixed Blood Theatre) as Titania, and Lou Carbonneau (Grey’s Anatomy, Law and Order) as Peter Quince.
“We are thrilled to bring this production back this year, which marks Frank Sinatra’s 100 birthday,” says director Chris O’Connor. “The show is set during Sinatra’s heyday and is underscored with his music. The world of Theseus is the Rat Pack and the young lovers are bobby soxers. We are performing the show on the very site where On the Waterfront was filmed, so we’ve made the mechanicals longshoremen. The setting of the production puts a new spin on Shakespeare’s comedy and at the same time embraces our local history. Audiences will have a great time watching the show, feeling a summer breeze come off the Hudson River, and watching the moon rise over the Manhattan skyline. It’s really a magical setting!”
Performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be: July 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, August 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 at Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, NJ. Performances begin at 8PM. The production runs 90 minutes without intermission. Admission is free.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is partially underwritten by Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the City of Hoboken.
This event has been sponsored in part by Thomas A. DeGise, County Executive, The Board of Chosen Freeholders and The Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs. Platinum funding by The Rockefeller Group.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is supported by Bijou Properties, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Hoboken Family Alliance, Party with Purpose, and The Rockefeller Group.
This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of state, a partner agency of the National endowment for the arts and by funds from the national endowment for the arts, administered by the Hudson county office of cultural & heritage affairs, Thomas A. Degise, County Executive, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders.
About Mile Square Theatre
Mile Square Theatre (MST) is the leading professional Equity theatre in Hudson County. Since 2003, MST has presented full-scale productions for adults and children, in addition to providing theatre education programs. Under the artistic direction of Chris O’Connor, MST receives support from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Hudson County Division of Cultural Affairs. For company information, please visit www.milesquaretheatre.org.
