Flirtatious maidens covered in flowers, lovers being duped and scandalous tales.

This isn’t Spring Break. This is the Syracuse Stage and the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Continuing the Stage’s 40^th anniversary season, John D. Archbold Theater is housing William Shakespeare’s fantastical play, which started its run Wednesday and goes through March 31. The play is a co-production between Syracuse Stage and the VPA Department of Drama.

The play is directed by Bill Fennelly, who is best known in the theatrical world as the resident director for the national tour of “The Lion King.”

Set amid the turn of the 17th century, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a widely popular play that has been performed for centuries around the world. The play is a comedy and has many humorous and farcical parts to it. However, scholars have pointed out that the play parallels “Romeo and Juliet” in many respects, though the largest difference is that it does not end in tragedy.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a play within a play. It’s the story of a collection of actors that go into a forest, but are deceived by mischievous fairies that live in the woods. At the same time, a group of Athenians are celebrating a wedding between Theseus, the Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, the Amazon Queen. Multiple plot twists and conniving character interactions later, nothing ends up turning out as originally planned.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” marks the Stage’s third to last performance of the semester. Other upcoming productions are “Good People” by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Laura Kepley; and “An Iliad: An Edgy Adaptation of Homer’s Epic Story Told by a Single Poet,” which is adapted from Homer by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, translated by Robert Fagles and directed by Penny Metropulos.

Following “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” SU Drama will perform one more production, closing its current season with a musical. “Violet” is a musical set during the civil rights movement that follows an abused woman through her journey to be healed. Authored by Brian Crawley, the musical’s book is based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts. The music is by Jeanine Tesori and the lyrics also by Crawley. Rodney Hudson directs the show, while the musical direction is by Brian Cimmet.

For more information and ticket sales for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and other upcoming shows at the Stage, visit syracusestage.org.

Published on March 7, 2013 at 3:41 am

Contact Claire: [email protected] | @ClaireDunderman