UPPER SAUCON TWP., Pa. — “The lunatic, the lover and the poet/Are of imagination all compact.”
You’ll be able to encounter all three at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, which announced a free community tour that is traveling to different places across the Lehigh Valley for the first time.
“Play On!” will bring the classic, family-friendly comedy "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" to libraries, parks and community centers from June 2-18. The tale is set in ancient Athens and an enchanted forest, and features fighting lovers, earnest actors and mischievous fairies.
The current legs of the tour are:
- Downtown Allentown ArtsWalk Pocket Park. 12:30 p.m. Friday, June 2.
- Scott Park, Easton Farmers Market. 11 a.m. Saturday, June 3.
- Lehigh Valley Children’s Festival, Allentown Arts Park. 2 p.m. Saturday, June 3.
- National Museum of Industrial History, Bethlehem. 1 p.m. Sunday, June 4.
- Allentown Public Library. Time TBD Tuesday, June 6.
- Bucks County Courthouse Lawn, Brown Bag-It with the Arts. Noon Wednesday, June 7.
- Moravian Village, Bethlehem. 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 13.
- Bethlehem Area Public Library. 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 14.
- Hills at Lockridge, Lower Macungie Township. 6 p.m. Thursday, June 15.
- Peddler’s Village, Lahaska, Pa. 2 p.m. Saturday, June 17.
- Other locations, to be announced
In addition, there will be an inaugural Community Day to celebrate the arts and local organizations at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, at the Center Valley campus of DeSales University.
“We are excited to collaborate and partner with local businesses to present a day full of fun, food, live performances, and more for the entire family.”Artistic Director Jason King Jones
“We are excited to collaborate and partner with local businesses to present a day full of fun, food, live performances, and more for the entire family,” Artistic Director Jason King Jones said in a news release.
Children’s programming will include story times, arts and crafts, and a meet-and-greet with the cast of the troupe’s "James and the Giant Peach." At noon, there will be food trucks, information tables and a community resource area focusing on health, creative arts and accessibility services.
There will also be performances of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"; the musical "In The Heights"; and "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again]."
Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival is a nonprofit group founded in 1992. It produces Shakespearean, musical, classic, and contemporary plays from May through August, attracting 34,000 to 40,000 playgoers over the summer. It is hosted at DeSales University.
The rest of the 2023 summer season includes:
- Henry IV, Part 2 at Schubert Theatre, May 31 to June 11
- James and the Giant Peach, July 7 to Aug. 5
- Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, July 19 to Aug. 6.
- In the Heights, Main Stage, June 14 to July 2
- The Tempest, July 12 to Aug. 6
- Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, July 20 to Aug. 5
- Shakespeare for Kids, July 26 to Aug. 5
- Bard Outdoors: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again], June 28 to July 16
Tickets can be purchased online, by calling the box office at 610-282-WILL (9455) and in-person at the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts at DeSales University.