Love on Stage in MHS Shakespeare Troupe's 35th Season

"Romeo & Juliet" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream": March 4-8

by Joan Gottesman & fal photography

(February 25, 2009) This March, audiences in Larchmont will be treated to The Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company’s 35th season, featuring two crowd-pleasing classics: Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both plays address themes of young love and its ensuing chaos, but with dramatically different tones and results.

In the well-known tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, the long-standing feud between two prominent families cannot extinguish the love between two of their children, Romeo and Juliet, but the young lovers are doomed to a tragic fate. By contrast, in the comedic romp of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, four young lovers run away from home and into a fantastical woodland world of fairy kings and queens, magic potions and amusing, endearing characters.

With a cast and crew consisting of some 90 Mamaroneck High School students under the direction of Dee O’Brien, The Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company is the oldest continuous high school Shakespeare troupe in the United States. Ms. O’Brien, who taught English at Hommocks Middle School for 36 years, received the Sunny Award for outstanding community service and the Westchester Arts Council Award for her contributions to theater arts.

This year, two promotional videos were produced for the company by Michael Lewen, a 2008 graduate of the company and MHS, and an award-winning film director currently enrolled in the film program at the University of Southern California. The two videos are vividly different in style, reflecting the contrasts between the two shows. The videos may be seen on YouTube under the titles “The Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company Presents Romeo and Juliet” and “The Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

As in the past, the company’s productions feature compelling music, sets and costumes. This year, Beck, Radiohead and Cake accompany the contemporary production of Romeo and Juliet, while such artists as Blondie, Madonna and Michael Jackson provide the musical atmosphere for the 1980’s setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company is a production of SRSC Productions, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation established in 2007 by a group of parents on the occasion of Dee O'Brien's retirement from teaching in the Mamaroneck school district. SRSC Production, Inc. was founded to ensure that Mamaroneck students would continue to benefit from participation in The Semi-Royal Shakespeare Company. This is the company’s second season under SRSC management.

This year the company is graduating a record number of seniors – 29 in total – most of whom have spent four years with the company. The graduates are Paul Antonios, Billy Berger-Bailey, Julia Bilbao, Abby Brammer, Maddie Cook, Irene Dambriunas, B.J. Dennis, Willa Granger, Danny Garfield, Peter Gelman, Lily Goodspeed, Alex Gottesman, Bear Hiler, Zach Johanson, Sarah Joyce, Peter Kaplan, Alex Kirby, Toni Lloyd-Davies, Christine Marsico, James Nabholz, Mike Reda, Max Saines, Peter Sansbury, Adam Schwartzman, Sara Stevens, Jake Szabo, Jake Ward, Jason Weitzman, and Jon Williams.

Prices are $10 for all performances. Advance tickets may be purchased using the order form found on the school district website: www.mamkschools.org (click on Mamaroneck High School). Tickets will also be available at the door starting one hour before each performance. All performances are in the Hommocks Auditorium at Hommocks Middle School, Larchmont.

Please note that each play has two separate casts; for information regarding the performance dates of specific cast members, contact Jenny Geer at jengeer@aol.com.

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