Wesleyan presents "Midsummer Night" and "Donkey Show"
Donkey Show is first collegiate performance in U.S.

LINCOLN, Neb. —Nebraska Wesleyan University’s theatre department will continue its season of Shakespeare this month with one of the writer’s most beloved and imaginative comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

But the theatre department will also break the mold to the popular Shakespeare comedy when they add a mix of retro disco to the story line.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night’s Disco will kick off November 14 as part of Nebraska Wesleyan’s Midsummer Project.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the story about two mismatched lovers who escape into the woods to sort things out, and they don’t count on interference from a band of mischievous fairies. Throw an amateur theatrical company into the mix and you’ll enjoy an evening of laughs resulting from mistaken identities, unpredictable romance, and magic.

Following the performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wesleyan’s student actors will break out the disco ball and 1970s clothing for the country’s first collegiate performance of Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night’s Disco.

“I’ve never directed anything quite like it,” said director Jay Chipman, who first read about the play in the New York Times nearly three years ago. “I guess you could say we are breaking the mold.”

The Donkey Show tells the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream through all the 70s disco hits you know by heart. The enchanted forest of Shakespeare’s comedy classic becomes the glittered world of retro disco. Nightclub impresario Oberon and his sidekick Dr. Wheelgood cook up an evening of funky love as they spoon a passion potion to a quartet of clubgoers, two guys named Vinnie, and the diva goddess of the moon, Titania. It’s a magic fantasia of mirror balls, glitter, and feathers where the unexpected can happen. The audience can expect to sing along to hits including “I Love The Night Life,” “Car Wash,” and “Don’t Leave Me This Way.”

“The action is on the dance floor,” said Chipman. “The action takes place among the audience.”

Chipman said The Donkey Show’s writer, Randy Weiner, gave him a surprise phone call last summer with news that Nebraska Wesleyan would be the first college or university to perform the play. Weiner is also known for his hit musical The Karaoke Show, a karaoke version of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, and is the co-director of the stage musical adaptation of “Dirty Dancing,” which is scheduled to appear on Broadway in 2005.

Performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be held November 14-16 and November 21-23 at 7:30 p.m. in McDonald Theatre, located at 51st and Huntington Avenue in Lincoln. A special 2 p.m. performance will be held on November 23.

Performances of The Donkey Show will be held November 14-15 and November 21-22 at 9:15 p.m. in McDonald Theatre. A special 7:30 p.m. performance will be held on November 20.

Admission is $10 for adults, $7.50 for students ages 12-18 years and senior citizens, $5 for college students and youth under 12. Box office hours are 2-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The box office is also open on the weekends during theatrical performances from 2-5 p.m. The phone number is 465-2384.

Cast members for A Midsummer Night’s Dream are:
• Matthew Lukasiewicz
• Jason Weixelman
• Jon Weber
• Lila Welcomer
• Jessica Zimmerman
• Mitchell Daffer