Catch 'Midsummer'



Here are the details for the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre's unconventional take on "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

When: Saturday, June 18; Sunday, June 19; Saturday, June 25; Sunday, June 26 -- all at 2 p.m.

Where: High Rock Park Amphitheater in the Greenbelt

Parking: Spots are limited, but park at 200 Nevada Ave. and walk southeast along the paved road. There will be signage. Arrangements can be made for those with limited mobility.

Cost: Totally free.

More information: Check out the Facebook event page or call the theatre company at 718-390-6616.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Hiking through High Rock Park the next two weekends, one might come to a clearing in the forest and witness a raucous hippy carnival, sprinkled with steampunk sensibilities and Hula-Hooping fairies.

Listen closely and the joyous noise might be in iambic pentameter. This is no hippy commune after all. It's the Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre company's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

The play, running through June 26 in the Greenbelt Conservatory, presents an unconventional take on the old classic. Along with live music and original choreography, it casts equal parts local musicians as it does traditional theater actors -- a refreshing approach for the 40-year-old theater company.

Musicians Gary Moore, Vincent Thomas Vok, Katie Ballou (Pussywolf) and Carl Gallagher (Wahoo Skiffle Crazies) share the stage with classically trained actors like Ariel Marcus, Ritty Mahoney and Rachel Somma Devlin. Actors like Melanie Randall, Kieran Graulich and Gary Bradley are hot on the musical theater scene as well.

The play's director, Frank Williams, also of the Wahoo Skiffle Crazies, and co-director Cara Liander, got playful with their take on the classic tale of foiled love: They went for a carnival feel, hence the Hula Hoops. They added a layer of steampunk stylings for the play's feuding fairies, giving them a sinister, conniving aesthetic.

"There's probably two or three productions of Midsummer happening in the city at the same time," Williams said. "So we wanted the magic to come through in ours."

Add to that the natural magic of the Greenbelt. On a particular windy day, the leaves created their own applause, and unexpected branches fell onto the set. The play itself is set in a forest, and some interpretations agree with Williams that it took place at a carnival.

"Besides the pastoral beauty of where we are, it can be unpredictable too," Williams said, adding that anyone who attends the play ought to bring bug spray.

Accompanying the play will be a live band -- most of the members of The Headlocks, sans frontman Rob Carey. The musicians will perform original music as part of the play.

A special performance will take place at Lumen Festival 2016 on the night of June 25, starting at 7 p.m. The team will perform the whole play, but scattered throughout the Atlantic Salt Co. property where the festival takes place.

This production was one of the awardees of a New York State Council on the Arts Encore Grant from Staten Island Arts. It also received funding from Richmond County Savings Foundation and the Lois and Richard Nicotra Foundation.