This summer, the Seattle Shakespeare Company will perform two classic Shakespeare plays — “Cymbeline” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” — throughout the Puget Sound region from July 7 through Aug. 7.
After a streamlined version last year where only one show was performed because of COVID-19 restrictions, Shakespeare in the Park will proceed at full strength this summer, performing two shows.
“2021 was fun and optimistic and exciting. This is just twice as fun for us because we’ve got two shows going,” said, George Mount, Seattle Shakespeare Company’s artistic director and director of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s most beloved works. The play follows two couples who wander into the woods where the fairies reside. Oberon and Titania, the King and Queen of the fairies, are at each others’ throats, love potions cause mayhem, and the mischievous fairy Puck sows chaos.
“Cymbeline” follows Imogen as they set out to find their banished lover and reconcile their estranged family. Makaela Milburn, director of “Cymbeline,” brings a modern interpretation to the classic play, introducing protagonist Imogen with nonbinary they/them pronouns. Villains and heroes alike are tested in this beloved classic.
“Both shows are going to be celebrations of storytelling and life and the connections we all have,” said Mount. “Both of them have stories of getting lost in the wilderness and finding your way back into some reconnection with your community and the people who love you.”
The performing casts of both plays are made up of new and familiar faces alike for theater lovers.
The cast of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” includes Anne Allgood, who has performed on Broadway and every major theater in Seattle.
Performances of “Cymbeline” will take place in Federal Way, Mercer Island, Edmonds, Sammamish, SeaTac, and other parks. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” performances will take place in Tacoma, Mercer Island, Seattle, Lynnwood, and more locations.
Mercer Island shows
Seattle Shakespeare will present Shakespeare in the Park in July and August at the Luther Burbank Park Amphitheatre. All performances are free and will be from 7 to 9 p.m. unless noted.
“Cymbeline:” July 7, 8, 15, 16, 21, 24 (2-4 p.m.), 30 and Aug. 4.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream:” July 10, 14, 17, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29 and Aug. 5, 6 and 7.
For more information about performance times and locations of Shakespeare in the Park, visit seattleshakespeare.org.
Photo by John Ulman Kate Witt and R. Hamilton Wright in “Comedy of Errors,” 2021.
Actor performing in Love’s Labour’s Lost, 2016. Photo by John Ulman.
