Nina Dicker as Titania (reclining) and Dawn Williams as Peaseblossom in the Summer Youth Ensemble production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Aug. 23-26 at Long Wharf Stage II.
The Long Wharf is doing another Summer Youth Theater Shake It Up Shakespeare project in late August. Only one this year—last year they did a modern musical drama, Threads of a Spider Web, and a pop-fueled take on Hamlet.
This time it’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream scored with early rock & roll hits such as “Rock Around the Clock” and “Hound Dog” plus contemporary tunes from Florence + The Machine and Christina Perri.
The songs are sung by the teen performers, backed by a live band. The kids have input into the music, which is used to underscore character traits and plot points. (Last year, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was done by the Players with lyrics changed to “Mama, I’ve just killed a man/Poured some poison in his head…,” and the Ghost of Hamlet’s father sang Coldplay’s “I Used to Rule the World.”)
The production, as in previous years, is dominated by members of the Taubl family, an artistic bunch who when not doing theater also comprise their own classical music ensemble. Brothers Jack, James, Jeremiah and Sam Taubl are all in the cast, and their mom Carol is the music director.
Also on stage: Lauren Buonasora, Chloe Chappa, Nina Dicker Gabriel DiMartino, Matthew Johnson, Bowen Kirwood, Jane Logan, Alex Luft, Celine Montaudy, Tommy Ordway, Ethan Pierson, Ryan Ronan, Maya Rose, Rachel Skalka, Henry Tobelman, Kira Topalian, Erik Van Eck, Emily Walters and Dawn Williams.
The rockin’ dream, directed by Long Wharf’s Director of Education Annie Martino, wafts from Aug. 23-26 at Long Wharf Stage II, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. (203) 787-4282, www.longwharf.org. [Note: when originally posted, the evening times were incorrectly listed. 7 p.m. is correct.]
The shows said to start at 8pm actually start at 7pm