The Scarborough Players literally rolled out the red carpet for the opening night of Ken Ludwig’s play, Shakespeare in Hollywood.
Actors made their way down the plush walkway accompanied by the cheers and screams of their imagined adoring fans in a mock Hollywood movie premiere.
The entrance was the novel beginning of the play itself at the Scarborough Village Theatre on Oct. 7.
“It is truly a madcap, screwball comedy with unexpected delights and magic,” producer Katherine Turner said. “But it also has conflict and something more serious to think about.”
Famous Shakespearean fairies Oberon and Puck find themselves magically transported onto the Warner Brothers Hollywood set of Max Reinhardt’s film A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Infatuated with the razzle-dazzle of show biz, the two fairies are unknowingly cast to portray themselves on the big screen. With some help from a magical flower, nutty love triangles involving movie moguls and blonde bombshells are thrown together with some riotous results.
Though the play has its roots in Hollywood history and also blends in aspects of Shakespeare’s own A Midsummer Night’s Dream, playgoers won’t have to worry about being unable to follow along with the story.
“Ludwig has crafted the play quite beautifully in the sense that he provides enough description of A Midsummer Night’s Dream that if anyone is not familiar with it, they’ll get it,” Turner said.
The front row was asked to keep their feet away from the edge of the stage as the actors used every inch of it, at times gallivanting in wildly choreographed scenes of mayhem.
The performance went smoothly on opening night after a rough rehearsal. Show dates are Oct. 7–9, 14–17, and 21–23.