TJ students are preparing for their big debut in November of a new modified version of the very famous Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Photo by Kiera Classen
The Thomas Jefferson community is in for a real treat come November 16th through the 19th when the new, 20th century version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream debuts. Play Director Michael Palmieri says that this play will really showcase all the cool new stuff in the theatre, and all the cast and crews’ fabulous talent.
“I rewrote this play, not because I’m a better writer than Shakespeare, but because I wanted it to be a fun play for everyone,” said Palmieri. “With Shakespeare’s version a lot of people don’t really understand all the references and it can be boring. When I rewrote this I wanted to bring it into the 20th century and make it funny,” says Palmieri who reports that he took all summer to do this task, putting in an hour or two everyday.
TJ Junior and cast member Aviva Getschel says that she really admires the job Palmieri has done in rewriting Shakespearean language while still retaining the flow and poetry of the original.
“This play is a comedy and consists mainly of three things,” commented Palmieri. “It deals with two lovers, Hermia and Lysander, who want to marry each other. However, Hermia’s father doesn’t approve of her choice and wants her to marry Demetrius. Meanwhile another girl, Helena, likes Demetrius and is trying to fight for his love,” said Palmieri. While the four are fighting over love, the King and Queen Fairies are at war with each other. Throughout the play the characters will have to figure out how everyone can live together.
“We’re hoping that this will be one of the coolest plays anyone has seen,” says Palmieri. When the list of the cast was posted, it was clear that this would be a great play commented Palmieri. This year the cast includes five freshmen. “The great thing about being a little school like TJ is that freshmen have a chance of being in big roles,” said Palmieri. “By the time they are seniors just imagine how great they will be.”
There are many roles to be played in this production, and rest assured there is a spot for everyone. The male leads are to be played by Sophomores Jordan Antonio as Nick Bottom, Ted Wunderlich as Oberon, Andrew MacCormack as Lysander, Christian VanDenham as Demetrius, and Freshman Marcos Descalzi as Theseus. The female leads are to be played by Seniors Whitney Hackbarth as Hermia, Gena Pinson as Puck, London Thatch as Titania, and Junior Mariah Linton as Helena. Other cast members include the “fairies or mob henchmen” as Palmieri worded it.
“We’re all working really hard to make this a great, and fun play so everyone should come and see it!” said cast member and Freshman, Sarah Puckett. Tickets will be sold by cast members and also on www.tjjournal.com. The play will drop curtain at seven o’ clock on November 16, 17, 18, and 19 in the auditorium here at TJ. Mark these dates on the calendar and come support our hard working Spartans!
