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A Midsummer Night's Dream

Presented by City Theatre- Sacramento City College and Sacramento Shakespeare Festival at William Land Park

July 2-July 31, 2010

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Sacramento Shakespeare Festival presents Shakespeare's most popular comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream at William Land Park. While picnics are welcome, some food, snacks, desserts, coffee and drinks are also available for purchase. 

Synopsis: A magical story in which the worlds of faery and humans collide and comic situations ensue. Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is preparing for his wedding to Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons. Preparations are interrupted by Egeus, an Athenian nobleman, who is having difficulties with his daughter, Hermia. She is refusing to marry Demetrius, the young man Egeus has chosen for her. She is in love with Lysander, another Athenian youth. When faced with the choices of marriage to Demetrius, becoming a nun, or death, Hermia sensibly opts to elope with Lysander. She tells her best friend Helena of their plans. Because Helena is in love with Demetrius, she tells him of the couples flight. He and Helena follow them into the magical forest.

Also in the forest are Athenian workers (the rude mechanicals) who are rehearsing a play they intend to present at Theseus wedding and Oberon and Titania, the feuding King and Queen of the Faeries, as well as their entourage. Oberon and his mischievous sidekick Puck play a trick on Titania. Puck has given one of the workers the head of a donkey. Using a magical flower on Titania while she is sleeping, they cause her to fall in love with the donkey. They also use the flower on the young Athenian couples in an attempt to sort out those relationships. However, mistakes are made and comic hijinks ensue before all is corrected.

Because this is a comedy, the lovers end up with the appropriate partners, the mechanicals are given the opportunity to present their play at court (the famous and funny Pyramus and Thisbe), and Oberon and Titania mend their quarrel. The faeries end the play with a blessing on the palace and all of its occupants, leaving Puck to bid farewell to the audience.