The Scottish-born actor confirms on his official website that due to an emergency appendectomy, he will be unable to perform the role of Puck in the Hartford Stage production that will begin performances Aug. 28 under the direction of Lisa Peterson.
Obie and Lucille Lortel Award winner Francis Jue (Yellow Face, Thoroughly Modern Millie) will replace Morton in the role of Philostrate/Puck. A Midsummer Night's Dream officially opens Sept. 5 and will continue through Oct. 5.
A Tony nominee for Taboo, Morton has appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac, Howard Katz and Measure for Pleasure, for which he earned an Obie Award.
The Hartford Stage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream includes cast members Johanna Day (Peter and Jerry) as Hippolyta/Titania, David Andrew MacDonald (Coram Boy) as Theseus/Oberon, Everett Quinton (The Mystery of Irma Vep) as Egeus/Quince, Lucas Caleb Rooney (The Country Girl) as Bottom, Christina Pumariega as Hermia, Sanjit De Silva (Masked) as Lysander, Jake Lacy as Demetrius, Susanna Flood as Helena and Steven Boyer (I'm Not Rappaport) as Flute.
Joining the stage veterans will be students from the Hartt School, including Nathan Johnson (Staveling) and Robert Patrick Sheire (Snug) with Chelsea Farthing, Shaylan Glejzer, April Glick, Sal Mitsou and Alec Shamas as the Fairies. Children in the production are Jordan Cyr, Andrew Shipman, Delaney Jordan and Summer Raign Martin. Designing the production are Rachel Hauck (set design), Stephen Strawbridge (lighting design), Ilona Somogyi (costume design), Paul James Prendergast (original musical composition) and Peter Pucci (choreography).
A Midsummer Night's Dream follows four would-be lovers into an Athenian forest who soon find themselves caught up in the magical world of the Fairy Kingdom. With entangled subplots and mismatched couples, A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies.
Hartford Stage is located at 50 Church Street in downtown Hartford, CT. Tickets for current shows are available by calling (860) 527-5151. For more information visit www.hartfordstage.org.
