Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Dream Sequence

“The course of true love never did run smooth,” Lysander tells Hermia in Shakespeare’s romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. That’s putting it lightly — in just one evening, their romance is disrupted by love triangles, meddling fairies and love potions gone wrong. Though the Bard set the chaos in ancient Athens, Lost Nation Theater fast forwards the action to America in the 1950s for its parallels in gender roles and social structure. “You want to make it as resonant and relevant to the audience as possible,” explains artistic director Kathleen Keenan. With dance scenes, elaborate fight choreography, and an original score influenced by doo-wop and early rock and roll, “It’s like musical Shakespeare,” says Keenan.