Nevada Theatre Company brings Bard back outside

Lights. Action. Lawn chairs.

The new Summerlin Centre Community Park, 1800 Town Center Drive, between Charleston Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, is slated to host Nevada Theatre Company's production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" May 15-17 at 8 p.m. This is the second Shakespeare Under the Stars production from the theater group. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with the greenshow beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The cast includes Jeff Granstom as Bottom, Keala Settle as Puck, Michael Karp as Oberon, and Heather Burdette as Titania. Their costumes were designed by Mario D'Loe of Cirque du Soleil.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies, taking its audience on a wild journey into the woods where mortals cross paths with fairies and young lovers run amok. The comedy introduces viewers to the logistics of putting on a play, a fairy world in strife and young lovers finding out that, in Shakespeare's words, "the course of young love never did run smooth."

Deanna Duplechain, artistic director and founder of Nevada Theatre Company, said the fairy world is seductive and special, something people want to exist. It makes for an engaging play for all ages.

"Watching these worlds collide and intermingle is pure fun for us, the audience," Duplechain said. "Their follies are our sport. And it is a gentle sport because all the characters are searching for love and approval, just like us."

The full script is being performed in five acts with no intermission. The play runs about two hours. Duplechain said the Howard Hughes Corp. and Summerlin staff were to be applauded for working so closely with her and making sure everything was set.

While the show was slotted into the theater's season lineup more than a year ago, actual work on the production only began three months ago.

The set encompasses simplicity in its engineering, Duplechain said, and was designed by John Gallagher of Cirque du Soleil.

It consists of scaffolding sections that can be broken down into about 100 pieces. When it's erected and draped, the set is 70 feet long. Different areas will be lit as the settings change with the acts.

The company is no stranger to working in an outside setting.

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" was its first outdoor play, held at Spring Mountain Ranch three summers ago.

Last year, the group performed "Romeo and Juliet" at Gardens Park. To prepare for that event, the cast rehearsed at Duplechain's house, using her quarter-acre back yard where the full set was built. The activity attracted neighborhood youngsters who had a real life role of their own -- they acted as the audience.

For the performance at Summerlin Centre Community Park, Duplechain opted to tape out the set for rehearsals in the theatre, which she referred to as a tiny, 80-foot black box.

"It's difficult for actors to go from flat floors to nine-foot platforms and steps," Duplechain said, then laughed. "But I just couldn't see having 20 people to my house every night."

Tickets are $8 for Summerlin residents and $12 for the general public. Call 791-4412 or visit www.Summerlin.com for additional information.


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