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News Release

Last modified: Friday, February 17, 2012

Miss IU featured as 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' brings Hollywood's Golden Age to stage at IU Theatre

WHAT: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by William Shakespeare. Directed by Gavin Cameron-Webb.
WHEN: Opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24. Additional performances at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25, 28 and 29, March 1 and 2 ; and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. March 3.
WHERE: All performances take place at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre, Lee Norvelle Theatre & Drama Center, 275 N. Jordan Ave. No photography or recording of any kind is permitted during performances.
TICKETS: Regular admission is $25 for adults, $15 for students, $20 for senior citizens; student rush tickets are $10 cash with a valid IU Bloomington student ID on the day of each performance.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 17, 2012

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU Theatre's 2011-12 season continues with a reimagined production of a classic from Shakespeare, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," featuring recently crowned Miss IU Brianna McClellan as Hermia. The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.

Directed by Gavin Cameron-Webb, this production will be set in a Hollywood studio, circa 1934. Inspired by one of the play's most famous lines, "what fools these mortals be," this take on Shakespeare's most fantastical comedy will focus on the various ways human beings react to love.

Cameron-Webb said the play's interrelated plots and characters embody different extremes that mortals often take: "From wanting to legislate love, to reveling in it, to making it a farce, to making mischief with it." The magic of Hollywood was chosen as a metaphor for Shakespeare's magical forest, where anything can -- and often does -- happen. Audiences can expect a lively production, which combines the Bard's unmatched poetry and wit with all the glamour of a royal Hollywood feast.

The cast of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" features junior Allison Hillman as Hippolyta and junior Mike Dits as Oberon in their IU Theatre debut. Joining them are junior Thomas Crosby Beaver (Simon Bliss in "Hay Fever") as Demetrius; junior John Machesky (Bonacieux in "The Three Musketeers") as Lysander; Miss IU and junior Brianna McClellan (Myra Arundel in "Hay Fever") as Hermia; junior Chloe Williamson (Sheila in "Hair," Maureen in "Rent") as Helena; first-year M.F.A. acting student Evelyn Gaynor (Chorus Leader in "Lysistrata") as Titania; junior Nicole Bruce (Calonice in "Lysistrata") as Puck; and second-year B.F.A. Aaron Densley (Buckingham in "The Three Musketeers") as Theseus. Other cast members include recent Ph.D. graduate Thomas Oldham; freshman Alex Criss; senior Andrew Benowich; junior Carrie Scott Barnthouse; freshman Sam Barkley; third-year M.F.A. Kristl Densley; sophomore Nichole Eberle; sophomore Jackson Goldberg; sophomore Matt J. Keeley; senior Kelly Langtim; sophomore Satsu Holmes; junior David-Aaron Roth; and freshman Nat Zegree.

Joining director Cameron-Webb's creative team are first-year M.F.A. directing student Lee Cromwell as assistant director; third-year M.F.A. scenic designer Nicholas Graves; third-year M.F.A. costume designer Jason Orlenko; third-year M.F.A. technical director Scott Wolfson; and second-year M.F.A. lighting designer Amanda Wray.

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