First Folio's 'Midsummer' marks 20 years of Shakespeare under the stars

Shakespearean plays work well outdoors, and that's especially true for “A Midsummer Night's Dream” — which First Folio Theatre stages under the stars this summer.

The production marks the 20th anniversary of the Oak Brook theater's summer Shakespeare offerings, and “A Midsummer Night's Dream” is a perfect fit.

“It's a play about a bunch of people running through a forest,” said director Hayley Rice. “It's more of an immersed experience.”

“A Midsummer Night's Dream” portrays two pairs of lovers' adventures, which are complicated by a fairy named Puck.

The stage, at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, is in the middle of a forest preserve, so attendees shouldn't be surprised if they see rabbits and deer passing by.

Johanna McKenzie Miller, who plays Titania and Hippolyta, said that fireflies resembling fairies add a magical effect. “It just gives you an immersive feel of being in the woods with these characters,” Miller said.

While outdoor theater comes with its share of difficulties — heat, bugs and nature's unpredictable soundtrack among them — Michael Joseph Mitchell prefers it that way.

“Shakespeare wrote these plays to be performed outdoors,” said Mitchell, who plays Oberon and Theseus. “You can feel that in the language. Something about it feels right.”

It's been 400 years since Shakespeare's death, but Rice believes that Shakespeare's plays continue to be loved by many because they have “universal aspects of being human.”

“In this show, people are falling in love with people that don't love them back and having trouble with relationships, this and that,” Rice said. “There's so many things that you can look at a Shakespeare play and go ‘I've been through that' and find yourself in these shows.”

Rice's production rings true to the original and that means that the language might be difficult for some people to understand.

Miller said Shakespeare “thinks in very long thoughts,” but she believes that adds to the charm.

“We live in this sound-bite world. These little bits we post on Facebook or Twitter. Even the media is giving us super-short clips,” Miller said. “But Shakespeare will start saying something and then there will be an aside and then maybe a comparison before getting back to the original thought.

“I think it's important to learn to listen in that way. To give our brains a challenge, but also a break from the constant flow of short bits of information.”

“A Midsummer Night's Dream”

<b>Location:</b> First Folio Theatre at the Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook, (630) 986-8067 or <a href="http://www.firstfolio.org">www.firstfolio.org</a>

<b>Showtimes:</b> 8:15 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday through Aug. 14

<b>Tickets:</b> $22-$39

<b>Other:</b> Bring chairs or blankets for seating. Picnics welcome; $16 boxed dinners can be ordered through <a href="http://firstfolio.org/boxedsuppers.php">firstfolio.org/boxedsuppers.php</a>