Shakespeare Theatre Celebrates Holidays with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, 11/15-12/30

The Shakespeare Theatre Company, recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, kicks off its holiday season with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Director Ethan McSweeny (Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice) takes a fresh approach to this well-loved play filled with magic and wonder. The production runs at STC's Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW) from November 15-December 30, 2012.

Mismatched lovers Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena flee to the forest outside Athens, but they run into a supernatural squabble that will alter their destinies forever. Will mischievous Puck create harmony or cacophony within the forest? Will Bottom and his Mechanicals put on a successful show for the Duke? Love, magic and wonder fill the air as dreams blend with reality in this must-see Shakespeare classic.

Under McSweeny's direction, theatre, magic, ghosts and fairies become one in the ruins of an abandoned theatre. The stunning stage within a stage, intricate costumes and innovative use of props all provide a feast for the imagination.

"Between the fairies, the lovers, and the mechanicals Midsummer is a three-ring circus of a play," McSweeny said. "The challenge to the director and the company is to imagine a world in which all three rings perform equally well. We are fortunate to bring together a truly stunning group of actors assembled from all across North America for what I hope will be a funny and beautiful treat for the whole family."

A Midsummer Night's Dream is sponsored by Arlene and Robert Kogod; the Presenting Education Sponsor is Target. Additional support provided by American Airlines and British Airways.

To purchase tickets or to learn more, patrons can call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM CAST

Tim Campbell makes his debut with STC as Theseus/Oberon, doubling as Duke of Athens and King of the Fairies. Campbell has had roles in many productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival such as As You Like It, Troilus and Cressida, Richard III, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Titus Andronicus, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra and The Tempest. He acted in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's production of Private Lives, as well as a number of international productions; he appeared in Ed's Garage and Miracle on 34th Street at Grand Theatre, Death of a Salesman at Citadel Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire at Blue Bridge, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at Soulpepper Theatre, Molière at Tarragon Theatre, Salt-Water Moon and A Midsummer Night's Dream at Resurgence Theatre, the title role in Macbeth at Rose Theatre, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at Birdland Theatre, Stones in His Pockets at Globe Theatre, and Romeo and Juliet and The Melville Boys at Sudbury Theatre Center. He can be seen on film in Deadly Hope, Killshot, and Hollywoodland, and on television in Nikita, Warehouse 13, The LA Complex, Saving Hope, The Firm, Lost Girl, Against the Wall, Combat Hospital, Flashpoint, Cheater's Club and Twitches. Campbell trained at Bishop's University in Quebec.

In his first STC production, Bruce Dow appears as Nick Bottom, an amateur thespian who makes a bit of an ass out of himself. Dow has acted in numerous Stratford Shakespeare Festival productions such as The Tempest (starring Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer), The Comedy of Errors, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods, Patience and Man of La Mancha. On screen, he has appeared in Drone, Murdoch Mysteries and Rick Mercer Report. He recently appeared on Broadway as King Herod in the Tony-nominated Jesus Christ Superstar. His other New York credits include Anything Goes, The Music Man and Jane Eyre. Off-Broadway he has performed in Grenadine (NYC premiere reading of the Yale Drama Award-winning play by Neil Wechsler). Dow is a guest lecturer at colleges and universities across America. He received his MFA in Directing from the University of British Columbia.

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