Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's annual presentation begins July 24 at Boston Common at the Parkman Bandstand. Artistic director Steven Maler stages the run, which performs through July 29.

The characters and creatures in the Bard's mythical fantasy are played by Johnny Lee Davenport (Love's Labours Lost) as Oberon, Mimi Bilinski (Miss Julie) as Titania, Antonio Edwards-Suarez (The Taming of the Shrew) as Puck, Hanna Wilson (Balm in Gilead) as Helena, Jason Bowen (Love's Labours Lost) as Demetrius, Meghan Bradley as Hermia, Ed Hoopman (The Taming of the Shrew) as Lysander, Larry Coen (Miss Witherspoon) as Peter Quince and Fred Sullivan, Jr. (Henry IV) as Nick Bottom.

The ensemble also includes Joel Colodner (Egeus), Paul Melendy (Francis Flute), Meghan Bradley (Hermia), Doug Lockwood (Robin Starveling), Leslie Harrell Dillen (Tom Snout), Shelley Bolman (Snug) and Lindsey McWhorter (Fairy).

This production marks CSC's 12th annual offering of "Free Shakespeare on the Common." Last year's staging of The Taming of the Shrew, starring Jennifer Dundas and Darren Pettie, drew more than 100,000 audience members.

Past CSC presentations have included The Taming of the Shrew; Much Ado About Nothing; Macbeth starring Jay O. Sanders; Henry V starring Anthony Rapp; Twelfth Night; The Tempest; Julius Caesar; As You Like It; and Romeo and Juliet. CSC's inaugural 1996 production, A Midsummer Night's Dream, was staged at Copley Square. CSC vet Sanders will star in the upcoming Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park presentation of Midsummer Aug. 7-Sept. 9. Daniel Sullivan directs a cast that features Jason Antoon, Keith David, Mireille Enos, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jon Michael Hill, Austin Lysy, Tim Blake Nelson, Martha Plimpton and Laila Robins.

For more information, call (617) 532-1212. Also visit freeshakespeare.org.