Five 20-somethings walk into an ancient, hungry forest. Who walks out?

A Midsummer Night Scream

Step into the theater and be transported to a looming, sentient forest that is on a knife’s edge of waking. And oh, is it hungry! With the BEST 80’s soundtrack.

Massive trees dwarf the space, exquisitely rendered and seemingly immortal. The trees’ solidity and rugged strength emphasizes the danger to the flimsy tents, rickety cabin structure, and soft squishy humans.  Danger surrounds it all. Oblivious, a group of young lovers gather around the firepit, intent on one last wild weekend before college. But they are not prepared for how wild this camping trip will become. 

A Midsummer Night Scream is presented as an 80’s nostalgia version of the Shakespearean classic: what happens if Shakespeare’s lovers are the Brat Pack caught in a slasher pic, where the killer is immortal forest fae? Set in the 1980’s, the human characters have a solid Breakfast Club vibe. The heart-throb jock, Dimitri (Luke McGreevey) is complete with a pseudo letter jacket, but carrying a dark secret. McGreevey has a strong presence and the sort of high-intensity energy this production needs. The leather-clad Xander (Connor O. Locklin), a dark and stormy musician, is carrying a torch along with his guitar. The smart, pretty girl Mia (Samantha Buckley) has big plans but made some bad choices. The awkward nerd Nick Bottom (Drew Slager) lives in their own world. All gather at the derelict cabin of Sam Holloway (Hayden Lane-Davies), a strangely distant but central friend (true slasher pic territory here). 

And of course the beloved fae – a delightful and fully-realized performance by Jack Antonio as Puck / Robin Goodfellow, appearing to mortals as a sparkly DJ or a comic-book-style caretaker, but showing his true glorious self only to Titania (Riley Starr McLean). Oberon (Marvo Oldham) is the horned god of the forest, awakened. 

The use of the space is smart, with well-differentiated areas of distinct ambiances. The costuming of the fae is gorgeously otherworldly. Specific set pieces – the firepit, the cabin window, the darkened doorway and the familiar porch steps are all put to excellent creative use.  A curated selection of 80’s greatest hits are purposefully timed to emphasize the plot points, and cleverly insinuated through a radio broadcast over the 80’s ubiquitous boom box. Lighting by Lighting Designer and Master Electrician Mike McShane is masterful; from evocative and changing forest fill to bold choices that allow the company wide-ranging use of the space (spoiler: keep hands and feet out of the aisles at all times please!)

The production comes with several warnings: it is an intense, high-sensory immersive horror experience. The production features stylized ’80s slasher violence, gore, graphic depictions of body horror, and themes of psychological trauma, non-consensual outing, internalized homophobia, and loss of autonomy. Sensory elements include aggressive strobe lighting, sudden loud bursts of radio static, atmospheric haze, and close-proximity physical combat. 

Otherworld is a unique treasure; a company dedicated to Science Fiction and Fantasy Theatre. Their concept calls to the wide world of geeks and nerds and comic-con devotees who are as enamored of the magic of theater as they are of the power of fantastical imaginings and brave new worlds. Founder and Artistic Director of Otherworld, Tiffany Keane Schaefer, is the writer, director and scenographer of Midsummer. Schaefer is an award winning director and playwright, with several major Chicago works including the acclaimed and popular TWIHARD! A Twilight Musical Parody. 

The creative team includes Assistant Director Fahim Sheikh, Fight Director Sam Campos, Intimacy Director Madeline Meyer, and Producer Sarah Jamgotch. 

Like Otherworld itself, the concept of A Midsummer Night Scream, is thrilling. As scenographer, Schaefer has created an enthralling and powerful visual and spatial environment. The story has moments – clever, touching, comic – along with broad strokes about masks both literal and figurative. Currently however, this original new work is two and a half hours and in need of focus and difficult editorial choices. It absolutely has the potential to become as great as the concept. 

A Midsummer Night Scream presented by Otherworld Theatre Company runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM with matinees Sundays at 2:30 PM through November 1. All shows are at the Greenhouse Theater Center, 2257 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Tickets may be purchased online at https://www.otherworldtheatre.org 

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visiting www.theatreinchicago.com