Local Theater Troupe Puts New Twist on Shakespeare

First you get dressed in tight dress clothes and drive to the theater. Then you buy your expensive tickets and walk onto the deep carpeted lobby.

Your handed a glossy program as you make your way to your seats. An usher takes your tickets and directs you to your seat.

You sit down, wiggle out of your coat and nod to your neighbors as well dressed and uncomfortable as you are. You study your program until the lights dim. You and the rest of the audience wait in the dark with for the prose of the Immortal Bard, William Shakespeare.

That is how most people see Shakespeare performed. The Midsummer Theatre Troupe does it a little differently. They do Shakespeare out in the bright outdoors with a relaxed comfortable atmosphere. MTT's productions are closer to what the Globe theatre would have been like than the usual reverent somber versions seen today.

Theater back in Shakespeare's day was a lot like combining a trip to the movies with a street carnival and an outdoor rock music festival. It was boisterous, chaotic and a little wild.

At a MTT performance you wear comfy clothes and sit on chairs or blankets. You bring a picnic or order food (at Two Brothers Roundhouse only). The only things missing from those days are shouted commentary by the audience and thrown rotten fruit when the acting is bad.

The Midsummer Theatre Troupe is a 13-year tradition in the Fox Valley. They bill themselves as “Not your classroom Shakespeare.” Rather they are Shakespeare like you've never seen him before. The troupe performs at a variety of locations every summer, including Central Park in Naperville, Island Park in Geneva, Cantigny Park in Wheaton and Two Brother's Roundhouse in Aurora.

Previous MTT productions include A Midsummer's Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, and last year's offering As You Like It. Many Oswego residents rediscovered a love of the Bard with the . MTT's Love's Labour's Lost is a fantastic follow up to the Limelight's magical production.

Set, for this production, on an unnamed tropical island, Love's Labour's Lost begins with the King of Navarre and his three compatriots vowing to 'fast' from luxury and the company of women for three years.

Their vows of austerity contrast deliciously with their paradisaical surroundings. The audience can tell immediately that the foursome are going to run into trouble. As soon as the young men sign their pledge, the women arrive in the persons of the Princess of France and her entourage. The oaths are instantly challenged and immediately fail. Insanity ensues.

Director Toni Hix recounts her inspiration for her tropical island spin on Shakespeare's comedy.

“My inspiration came from my trip to the lovely Big Island in Hawaii," she said. "If Shakespeare had ever seen the Pacific islands, he certainly would have set his play there."

The ensemble cast offers a host of exceptional performances woven into a cohesive entertaining whole. Everyone has an excellent command of the lyrical prose. Even when the speeches are a bit much for our modern ears the meaning still comes through. 

All of the actors are physical and funny, keeping the audience laughing from scene to scene. Broad expressions, campy gestures and physical gags add to the plot and the amusement.

Props pulled from Renaissance France, the Hawaiian islands and modern joke shops complement the festival feeling.

Can there be anything as funny as an ode to love delivered to a rainbow-colored wind-up pig? The costumes, designed by Toni Hix, underscore the tropical location without losing the flavor of the Renaissance. Peter Hix's musical score augmented the play's action without overpowering it.

A truly ensemble cast, Love's Labour's Lost is filled with stars without the 'star' attitude.

• King of Navarre – Robb Cleave
• Lord Berowne – Dan McQuaid
• Lord Longaville – Johnny Schueneman
• Lord Dumaine – Doug Burrichter
• Princess of France – Nicholette Pollack
• Lady Rosaline – Kristen Dueroth
• Lady Maria – Allison Grischow
• Lady Katherine – Jessica McCluskey
• Lord Boyet – Frank Warpeha
• Don deArmando – Mark Brouwer
• Moth – Heidi Schultz
• Costard – Robbie Holden
• Madam Holofernia – Brenda Scharlau
• Sir Nathaniel – Gary Puckett
• Jacquenetta – Megan Scharlau
• Anthony Dull – Vic Portincaso

''Love's Labour's Lost'' has its final performance of the summer at 7 p.m. tonight at the Two Brothers Roundhouse, 205 N. Broadway in Aurora. Admission is free. Food and drinks are served until 6:30 p.m.