Summer’s Twilight

Summer’s Twilight is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The piece tells the story of the four lovers, Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius and Helena, as their romantic troubles lead them out into the forest, where the fairy, Puck, and his king, Oberon, wait ready to meddle.

Part opera, part play, and part music-theatre piece, Summer’s Twilight tells its story with arias and ensembles, as well as spoken dialogue, accompanied speeches, and text translated into wordless music. Puck is played not by an actor, but by a cellist. Oberon is played by a marimbist. They deliver their lines through their instruments without using their voices, and play at other times as instruments accompanying the action.

The most recent public reading took place on May 4, 2013 at Art House Productions in Jersey City. The most recent version expanded the piece considerably, and created a new dumbshow at the opening. Keep your eyes out for the handcuffs in that scene. There’s more about the reading in this post.

For their help with the reading I owe thanks to Art House Productions, New Morse Code, and the entire team.