Francis Jue (Yellow Face), who originally replaced an ailing Euan Morton (Taboo) in the role of Philostrate/Puck, injured himself during a recent rehearsal in the physically demanding role. Morton was forced to withdraw from the Hartford Stage production in late July following an emergency appendectomy.
In addition to Jue's injury, Hartford Stage also cites the necessity for additional technical rehearsals and has canceled the Aug. 28 performance in addition to the Sunday matinee on Aug. 31. Performances will now begin Aug. 29. Opening night remains Sept. 5.
Danyon Davis, who previously appeared in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Guthrie will assume the role of Philostrate/Puck for the Hartford run.
Under the direction of Lisa Peterson (Public LAB's Poor Itch), A Midsummer Night's Dream will run through Oct. 5.
"These changes in the preview schedule will allow us the additional rehearsal time to bring our audiences a truly spectacular staging of Shakespeare’s most enchanting romantic comedy,” said Hartford Stage artistic director Michael Wilson in a statement. “We are extremely excited about Lisa’s innovative direction of the play. I believe this will be a production Hartford audiences will be talking about for years to come.” The cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream includes 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.
A Midsummer Night's Dream also includes ensemble members from the Hartt School, including Nathan Johnson (Staveling), Robert Patrick Sheire (Snug), 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 Pendergast (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.
