The University of Toledo Department of Theatre and Film will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Jukebox Musical” at the Center for Performing Arts Center Theatre April 10-19.
An exciting, imaginative adaptation of the classic comedy by William Shakespeare, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Jukebox Musical” introduces popular music to the story of plans and romantic interests thrown awry by mischievous woodland fairies.
Dr. Matt Foss, a professor of theater and director of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Jukebox Musical,” works with student actors Clayton Houser, Faith Murphy and Gerardo Rosario.
Matt Foss, the director and a UToledo professor of theater, adapted the musical.
“We’ve blended in contemporary songs that amplify the themes and experiences of the characters, similar to what audiences expect from their favorite Broadway shows,” Foss said. “It’s a precise, rigorous approach to the text and the verse with explosive imagination around what Shakespeare could and can be.”
The production reflects a continued collaboration between UToledo’s Department of Theatre and Film and the Disability Studies Program, with community actors with intellectual and developmental disabilities joining UToledo students to perform the roles of well-known characters like Puck, Oberon and Titania, Helena and Demetrius, and Hermia and Lysander.
“We’re challenging our cast and audiences to reimagine who can be an actor and what a performance can look like,” said Dr. Rebecca Monteleone, an assistant professor of disabilities studies. “There are jokes and beats and moments in this production that can only happen because of the person delivering that line. That’s the power of inclusive theater — you couldn’t see this version of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ with any other cast.”
Monteleone is a co-director with Kelly McBane, an associate lecturer of theater.
The inclusive cast reflects the broader goal of creating theater and art that is accessible to all within the Department of Theatre and Film, which also recently acquired software and equipment that allows for the open captioning of live performances and launched a new course, Disability and Theatre, cross-listed with the Disability Studies Program and run in collaboration with OpenSpot Theatre in Detroit.
“With ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Jukebox Musical,’ we’re taking the inclusive principles of that course and applying them to a fully supported production,” said Stephen Sakowski, chair of the Department of Theatre and Film.
Performances begin with a free community and campus preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10. Additional performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Saturday, April 19, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 13, with Saturday, April 19.
Tickets are $10 to $25 and can be purchased online through the UToledo Tix website or at the box office before the performance. Student tickets are free with a Rocket ID.
Visitor parking is free only for the Saturday evening and Sunday performances in Area 12, excluding reserved, disabled and metered spaces. Parking for Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon performances requires payment through the ParkMobile app, a parking meter or a daily permit via ParkUToledo. Visit the ParkUToledo website for more information.
For more information, go to the Department of Theatre and Film website.
