METRMAG Spotlight On: THT Rep returns with a bold new take on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Hanover Theatre THT Rep (Worcester, MA.)
(Cover Photo: The CAST of THT Rep's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," now playing at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester, MA. until February 14, 2026. Photo Courtesy THT Rep and the Hanover Theatre)
By Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMAG Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind. Nor hath love's mind of any judgment taste. Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste!"
- ("Helena") / William Shakespeare
The Hanover Theatre THT Rep
Presents William Shakespeare's
"A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM"
Written by William Shakespeare
Adapted and Directed by Dr. Kathryn Moncrief
Performances:
January 28, 2026 through February 14, 2026
(Contact Box Office for Exact Times)
Presented at the BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center, 20 Franklin Street, Worcester, MA. 01608
TICKETS:
For more information contact the box office at # 877-571-7469 or email boxoffice@jmacworcester.org
BUY TICKETS
METRMAG Spotlight On: THT Rep returns with a bold new take on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" - Hanover Theatre THT Rep (Worcester, MA.)
The Hanover Theatre Repertory (THT Rep) will present William Shakespeare’s "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester from January 28th through February 14th, 2026.
Staged with an intriguing perspective on William Shakespeare’s "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," the THT Rep production has NOT focused on approaching the Bard material as if it were holy scripture (although Shakespearean purists might take exception).
Presumed written between 1595 and 1596, when first performed "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" was originally staged and presented in five acts.
As presented by the THT Rep team, the play is (mercifully) performed in two acts.
"A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s most popular and still widely-performed plays.
Before trying to watch this show, in any version, be it traditional, avant-garde or existential, one must immediately accept the setting of a “dreamlike” reality where the rules of the human world have been suspended.
The story features a dynamic THT Rep cast portraying characters that include young lovers, a “diverse” play troupe and fairies.
"Why fairies?" one might ask.
"Because why NOT fairies?" would be this reviewer's response.
The fairies in "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" actually represent magic, the supernatural, and the power of love and imagination.
While an absurdity, these fairies embody the humorous, unpredictable and sometimes volatile nature of love and dreams, influencing the human characters and their relationships.
Set in "Athens" (but not THE "Athens" - more on that later), the play consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta and, as in any good comedy, anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
One of the story’s subplots involves a conflict among Athenian lovers, with another following a group of six amateur actors rehearsing a play for which they are hired to perform before at an impending arranged wedding.
The above all find themselves in a forest inhabited by “fairies” who manipulate the humans while engaged in their own turbulent subplot.
Abandoning the above “forest” surroundings, we instead find ourselves immersed in a reimagined 1980s club culture at a bar called “The Wood.”
The THT Rep cast for "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" includes: Gillian Mariner-Gordon* as “Helena,” Ian Kramer* as “Demetrius,” Stella Chinchilla as “Hermia,” Nina Giselle as “Lysandra,” Alexander Wells* as “Theseus,” Janis Hudson as “Hipplyta,” Alexa Cadete as “Egea,” Equiano Mosieri* as “Oberon,” Meri Stypinski* as “Titania,” Livy Scanlon* as “Puck/Philostrate,” Teddy Lytle as “Bottom,” John Tracey as “Quince,” Mitra Sharif as “Flute/Thisby,” Daisy Jane Birch** as “Snout/Wall,” Maxwell Caraballo** as “Snug/Lion,” Kyle Hargrove** as “Waltpaper,” Alyssa Morales** as “Astro,” Ginny Hilli** as “Jewels.”
(**Members THT Worc at Play program)
Coming across as an early influence on the future and oft-used television “sitcom” premise, the story navigates complicated relationships comedically led astray by misinformed individuals, misguided intentions and mistaken identities.
In the first of three intersecting subplots for "MIDSUMMER" involves the Athenians as we are introduced to Lysandra (Nina Giselle), a young Athenian nobleman who is in love with Hermia (Stella Chinchilla), daughter of Egea (Alexa Cadete).
Lysandra is completely devoted to her but soon becomes infatuated with Helena (Gillian Mariner-Gordon) due to some magical mischievousness caused by the fairies. Hermia is in love with Lysandra and defies her parent’s wishes for her to marry Demetrius (Ian Kramer), a young Athenian nobleman.
While Demetrius is initially in love with Hermia, again due to some misdirected magical mischief, he soon falls for and pursues Helena under a love potion's spell.
The cause of the mischief stems from Oberon (Equiano Mosieri), “King of the Fairies” who, from the play’s second intersecting subplot, is engaged in a conflict with his queen, Titania (Meri Stypinski).
Oberon has ordered the highly volatile and unreliable Puck (Livy Scanlon) to use a love potion to resolve their domestic dispute.
The loyal but looney Puck carries out Oberon's orders, often with unintended consequences, leading to much of the play's confusion and humor.
In the show’s final intersecting subplot involves the “Mechanicals” where we observe the antics of an amateur troupe of actors who are presenting a play to the Athenians (i.e. the “play-within-a-play” concept - a theatrical device for which Shakespeare may not have invented but certainly deserves much credit for its popularity).
Bottom (Teddy Lytle) is a weaver deluded into thinking themselves a great actor.
Through a comedic mix-up of potions, Bottom is afflicted with a donkey’s head by Puck, who simultaneously steers Titania into being infatuated with Bottom.
The entire THT Rep ensemble for "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" is seemingly put through a multitude of arduous scenes, scattered onstage effects and complex dialogue.
(Photo: The CAST of THT Rep's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," now playing at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester, MA. until February 14, 2026. Photo Courtesy THT Rep and the Hanover Theatre)
The THT Rep production is directed by Dr. Kathryn Moncrief and Paris Fletcher of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), who also adapted the script with Dr. Sarah Lucie (WPI) serving as associate director, choreographer, and dramaturg.
According to her WPI profile, Dr. Lucie has a PhD in Theatre and Performance from the Graduate Center, CUNY; an MA in Performance Studies from New York University; and a BA in Theatre and English from Boston College.
Dr. Lucie’s research approaches contemporary performance and digital art through new materialism, ecocritical theory, and posthumanism.
METRMag spoke with Dr. Lucie about the THT Rep approach taken to maintain Shakespeare’s original text but reframing the classic comedy through a different “lens” and viewing contemporary questions of gender identity and BIPOC representation by placing the action in a pulsing 1980s nightclub.
“As we were looking for a contemporary lens,” Dr. Lucie offers, “We actually found the same spot (“Athens”) that was used by Shakespeare.”
“This adaptation began at WPI in the fall of 2024 and it was developed because Kate Moncrief felt we needed to do a show with a certain set of students doing humanities projects,” Dr. Lucie says. “And we were interested in Shakespeare and comedy and this felt like this would be a good fit for the group.”
Dr. Lucie points out how everyone involved was “inspired and discussed how to make ‘Dream’ more unique and relevant to our students.”
“Changing some of the setting and some of the characters to an 80s cultural context still maintained a clear relevance to today and to Shakespeare’s time.”
In addition to the performances, THT Rep will host several special events throughout the run.
Following the January 29th performance, there will be a post-show talkback in partnership with Pride Worcester.
The discussion will be hosted by Dr. Lucie, featuring Dr. Stephanie Yuhl (College of the Holy Cross), and Dr. Joseph Cullon (WPI) in conversation about gender identity and queer culture in Worcester and classical texts.
Dr. Lucie explains how the show advanced from WPI to THT Rep.
“Livy Scanlon (THT Rep Artistic Director) saw the (WPI) production and thought about bringing it to THT Rep. I am the associate director, co-adapter, dramaturg and choreographer. Other faculty reps are also involved in the THT Rep show.”
(Photo: The CAST of THT Rep's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," now playing at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester, MA. until February 14, 2026. Photo Courtesy THT Rep and the Hanover Theatre)
This adaptation abandons Shakespeare’s original forest setting with it being reimagined and set in a 1980s club culture at a bar called “The Wood.”
Is there something in particular about 'MIDSUMMER' that the WPI/ THT Rep team felt lends itself to this distinctive adaptation of the story?
“Kate is a Shakespearean scholar and it is also her passion,” Dr. Lucie states. “And while it was a fun opportunity to work on Shakespeare with the students, mine is more in line with experimental and other works. So, this feels like coming home with 'MIDSUMMER'.”
“Personally, I enjoy Shakespeare but any kind of theatre interests me,” Dr. Lucie says. “But there’s a unique opportunity here with 'MIDSUMMER' because when Shakespeare was writing this in 1895, he set the story in ‘Athens’ but it is really an idea of Athens (as opposed to the actual Athens), using Athens as being more a representation of democracy than the actual city.”
“As we bring in the mythological characters, this allows us to present the story using more of the idea and adding in pop culture concepts,” Dr. Lucie says. “This gives us a way to rethink and find the meaning Shakespeare found relevant in his time that is still relevant for us today in our time.”
While the city has more rigidly defined roles, according to Dr. Lucie, the forest (or "The Wood") was conversely more a “place of discovery and shapeshifting cross-dressing and finding a different version of yourself.”
And why a nightclub from the 1980s?
“So, the 80s specifically was selected for practical reasons, like offering a distance from today but still allowing for a different viewing experience,” Dr. Lucie explains. “The setting of 'The Wood' offers a more nostalgic experience while maintaining a relevance to today.”
“The ‘Athens’ we are staging looks more like New York and in the ‘80s Reagan’ era was just selected to show the rise of the new right movement, the emergence of ‘family values’ and far right conservatism but also the rise of the HIV and AIDS crisis.”
“There is a real clarity over the emerging negative conservative forces of the time and to spotlight those who needed to find a more open and progressive community, where love is love and where they could overcome those negative forces,” Dr. Lucie says. “It is in that sense of conflict that the 80s setting serves.”
With varied results, this show has been adapted many times over the decades, especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, but does the creative team at THT Rep have any sense of just how well these actors have taken to the unique tactic to the Bard text focusing on gender identity and BIPOC representation?
“It has been a really fun process working with this cast,” Dr. Lucie says. “We started this collab with Kate sharing her vision and me serving as dramaturg.”
(Photo: The CAST of THT Rep's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," now playing at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester, MA. until February 14, 2026. Photo Courtesy THT Rep and the Hanover Theatre)
Dr. Lucie states that, working together, the entire THT Rep creative team “laid the groundwork on the 80s and had a week of table work with the THT Rep actors analyzing the text, understanding the characters and conflict within the 80s timeframe.”
“It was so much fun to witness what the actors were adding to what we had already written,” Dr. Lucie recalls. “Everybody was contributing creatively, particularly to what it meant to be a queer person of color in the 80s - and many of the actors have embraced the varied personalities and perspectives of the characters.”
Dr. Lucie points out how "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" still has a message about the conflict that exists when some characters try to hold onto “traditional family values” while other characters are instead seeking out and embracing new identities while everybody is just “trying to fit into a new world order of power" which she says "also becomes a part of the larger conversation.”
"Something that has been fun to discover in the rehearsal room is our own sense of community," Dr. Lucie says. "Bringing the sense of joy and openness that we are showing in this club, and we are inviting the cast to bring it into the rehearsal room. Our rehearsal will turn into a little bit of an 80s dance party at times."
"And there are other moments that are happening in the world right now and for which this show reaffirms everyone’s sense of individuality."
(Photo: The CAST of THT Rep's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM," now playing at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester, MA. until February 14, 2026. Photo Courtesy THT Rep and the Hanover Theatre)
Ultimately, regardless of how familiar some audience members might be with "MIDSUMMER" what is Dr. Lucie's hope that audiences will come away with AFTER seeing the unique THT Rep approach to the story?
"I hope they come away with feeling that dreams and love and magic and theatre all of those have a power and can create change."
THT Rep's "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" will play at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester, MA. until February 14th, 2026.
Tickets are on sale now at the Hanover Theatre Box Office, by calling # 877-571-7469 or visiting theHanovertheatre.org/event/midsummer-nights-dream/
Coming up next from THT Rep at the BrickBox Theater will be the provocative “WHO IS EARTHA MAE" beginning April 8th and running through April 19th, 2026.
For more information contact the box office at # 877-571-7469 or via email boxoffice@jmacworcester.org
BUY TICKETS
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
“Out of this wood do not desire to go: thou shalt remain here, whether thou wilt or no.”
Set in a 1980s nightclub, this midwinter take on William Shakespeare's"A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" is equal parts poetry and punk rock.
Get lost in The Wood with a pair of young lovers and a flutter of fairies.
Adapted and Directed by Dr. Kathryn Moncrief
For more information contact the box office at # 877-571-7469 or via email boxoffice@jmacworcester.org
BUY TICKETS
ABOUT THT REP
The arts play a vital role in helping individuals of all ages develop self-esteem, compassion and problem solving skills. Students who study or participate in the arts have proven academic success. They find their voice and discover new avenues for creative expression. It is the goal of THT REP to maximize a student’s social and emotional development while introducing them to theatre, dance, music and design. In addition, access to state-of-the-art equipment and hands-on training with industry professionals in our world-class venue allows students to gain real-world experience in the performing arts field.
ABOUT THE VENUE
With its industrial aesthetic and intimate seating, the BrickBox Theater at the Jean McDonough Arts Center is perfect for fresh, sophisticated stagings of classic works.
THT REP at the BrickBox Theater
Jean McDonough Arts Center
20 Franklin Street
Worcester, MA. 01608
# 508-413-JMAC / # 877-571-SHOW (Box Office)
boxoffice@jmacworcester.org
