Theater to open season with A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Lantern Theatre will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, at 7 p.m. April 5, 6, 13 and 14 in Simon Park in downtown Conway. Appearing as the four young lovers in the play, which has been adapted and some characters “gender-swapped,” are Tarek Esaw, from left, who appears as Demetrius; Kenzi Brenton as Hermia; Dana Kordsmeier as Lysandra; and Max Churchwell as Helenus.
The Lantern Theatre will present A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, at 7 p.m. April 5, 6, 13 and 14 in Simon Park in downtown Conway. Appearing as the four young lovers in the play, which has been adapted and some characters “gender-swapped,” are Tarek Esaw, from left, who appears as Demetrius; Kenzi Brenton as Hermia; Dana Kordsmeier as Lysandra; and Max Churchwell as Helenus.

CONWAY — The Lantern Theatre will open its 2019 season with a familiar play — A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare. The play will be presented at 7 p.m. April 5, 6, 13 and 14 in Simon Park in downtown Conway.

While the story may be familiar to many people, the local version takes a slightly different slant than the original.

“The joy of doing a Shakespeare play is that you can make changes to it,” said Trent Reese of Conway, who is directing the show and, along with Darby Burdine, also of Conway, has adapted the play for this production. “We’re using the original language, of course, but we’re setting it in modern-day times, and we’ve changed the gender of certain characters. There is an LGBTQ slant to this one.

“The story is still the same — four young people who want to be together and escape to The Wood, which in our show is a gay nightclub,” Reese said. “And the two couples are same-sex couples.

“There is still a love triangle going on. The two couples meet a drag queen along the way to The Wood. The fairies written in the original play are drag queens in this version. It’s a lot of fun.”

The four lovers include Hermia and Lysandra, a female and a male in the original play, now portrayed, respectively, by two women, Kenzi Brenton and Dana Kordsmeier, both of Conway; and Demetrius, a male character in the original production and still a male character in the local version, portrayed by Tarek Esaw of Conway, and Helenus, who is a female named Helena in the original version, now played as a male by Max Churchwell of Conway in the local production.

Reese said several other characters are “gender-swapped” as well.

“Our story finds Hermia, Lysandra, Demetrius and Helenus as they enter the fabulous world of The Wood,” Reese said. “The owner of The Wood, Oberon, and his lead bartender, Puck, begin a plot to get back at Oberon’s jealous lover, the star drag performer Titania. Their plot quickly begins to include our four lovers, and hilarity ensues. All the while, a group of The Wood employees have been called on to perform at the duke’s wedding, which becomes the hysterical fifth act of our tale of love.”

Following is a brief look at the “four lovers”:

• Brenton made her first appearance in a Lantern production in 2018 in She Kills Monsters. Brenton is a graduate of Bryant High School and a junior English-education major at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

“My character, Hermia, is emotional,” Brenton said. “She gets really attached in this strong friendship with Lysandra, … and that later gets to her.

“There is so much physical comedy in this play,” Brenton said. “I really like that.”

• Kordsmeier last appeared in a Lantern production as Electra in the Greek tragedy Electra in 2017. She is a graduate of Conway High School and Hendrix College in Conway and is a dental hygienist in Little Rock.

“I am excited to be back onstage,” Kordsmeier said. “My character, Lysandra, is a male in the original version … a woman in this version. It’s a gender-

swapped role. It’s the same

character; the pronouns are just different.

“She is a loving character … except to her partner,” Kordsmeier said. “As the show progresses, she gets crazy … over the top. She’s pretty funny.”

• Esaw made his debut with The Lantern when he appeared as Steve in She Kills Monsters. A graduate of Conway High School, he has been acting since his junior year.

“I play Demetrius, who is Helenus’ love interest,” Esaw said. “I like playing Demetrius. but I don’t like him as a character. … He’s really a jerk.

“I am happy to be a part of the cast. This is a fun play.”

• Churchwell was most recently in The Lantern’s production of She Kills Monsters. He is a graduate of Greenbrier High School and a junior at UCA, where he is majoring in creative writing.

“My character, Helenus, is slightly overdramatic,” Churchwell said, smiling. “He’s also a bit of a sad sack. He takes things to heart very quickly. He’s similar to Dana’s character … over the top, which makes him funny.”

Churchwell appeared with Kordsmeier in Electra in 2017, portraying Electra’s brother, Orestes.

Also appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream are the following:

• Pammi Fabert of Conway appears as Theseus, the duke of Athens.

• Jessica Thompson of Conway plays Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons who is betrothed to Theseus.

• Jay Ruud of Conway plays Egeus, father of Hermia.

• Claudia Moskova of Little Rock portrays Bottom, a weaver.

• Anna Ruth Merritt of Conway appears as Quince, a carpenter.

• Elizabeth Whitsett of Conway portrays Snout, a tinker.

• Scotty Lewis of Conway appears as Snug, a joiner.

• Makayla Palmer of Conway plays Starveling, a tailor.

• Treece Ealy of Twin Groves portrays Flute, a

bellows-mender.

• Ahnawake Cheyenne Mullaney of Greenbrier appears as Puck, Oberon’s mischievous servant.

• Darby Burdine of Conway plays Mustardseed, a fairy.

• Brian Smith of Conway appears as Oberon, king of the fairies.

• Logan Howell of Conway portrays Titania, queen of the fairies.

• Jazz Summers of Little Rock plays Cobweb, a fairy.

• Emma Hogan of Greenbrier appears as Moth, a fairy.

• Rachel McKee of Conway plays Peaseblossom, a fairy.

Tickets to A Midsummer Night’s Dream are $15 for adults and $12 for children. Reese said these tickets are “front-row” seats for those who wish to bring their own lawn chairs and sit on the brick flooring in front of the stage.

“We are going to move the bleachers back into the grass, and that will be pay-what-you-can seating,” Reese said.

Tickets are available online at thelanterntheatre.com or through The Lantern’s Facebook page. Tickets will also be available on-site, “at the door,” Reese said.

Reese said the community theater group is “still together” following the departure from its home on Van Ronkle Street in mid-2018. Since then, the acting troupe has staged its productions at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Parish Hall and the Conway Boys & Girls Club.

“We’re really excited to do this first show of the new season in Simon Park,” said Reese, past president and current member of The Lantern’s board of directors. “We plan three more shows this year — The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, which will be directed by Shua Miller this summer; The Odd Couple (Female Version), by Neil Simon, which will be directed by Kelly Webber and Elizabeth Whitsett in the fall; and Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Park Housewife, by Del Shores, which I will direct this winter. All of these dates and locations are yet to be determined.

“Season flex passes are now available online at thelanterntheatre.com,” Reese said. “Theater patrons can receive a savings by purchasing the flex pass.”

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