Aurora Central High stages ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ with a ’70s twist

An updated version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare will be staged by Aurora Central Catholic High School’s drama department.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7 and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Father Etheredge Performing Arts Center, 1255 N. Edgelawn Drive in Aurora. General admission is $10; reserved seats are $15. Tickets are available at the door.

Directing is Philip A. Nohl, the school’s drama-choir director. He said, “Midsummer Night’s Dream gets a groovy 1970s twist. When four young lovers escape into the woods, they stumble into a world of mischievous fairies, mistaken identities, and unexpected romance. Add a band of hopelessly enthusiastic actors and a little fairy magic, and you have a night where love is complicated, everything is upside down, and absolutely nothing goes according to plan.”

Nohl adapted the original version. The 100-minute production includes an intermission. Concessions will be available.

The play is a romantic comedy written by Shakespeare between 1594 and 1596. The story is set in Athens and centers on the upcoming marriage of Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons.

Egeus demands that his daughter Hermia marry Demetrius, but Hermia loves Lysander. Hermia and Lysander flee into the nearby forest, followed by Demetrius and Helena, who loves Demetrius.

In the woods, fairy king Oberon and his servant Puck use a magical flower juice that causes comedic romantic confusions and misidentifications among the four young Athenians.