OHS spring musical pulls out all the stops

With a brand new high school, including a new auditorium, Owatonna High School Theater Director Erik Eitrheim said they are “pulling out all the stops” and the audience “should be ready for a wild ride” for this year’s spring production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Eitrheim said the performances, which will take place from Thursday, May 2 through Sunday, May 5, are being performed “in the round,” and will feature the audience on stage with the actors.

“We chose to set it in this manner so as to make it a bit more intimate for the audience and hopefully more fun,” Eitrheim said. “There will be 96 seats available for each performance.”

Asked why Eitrheim picked "A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for this year's performance, he said it’s a “really fun show with a large cast.”

He said those two reasons are why he has decided to direct it three different times. 

“In addition, Shakespeare’s plays in general allow for so much flexibility in the setting and overall production concept that my production staff and I were really wanting to have some serious fun with this show,” Eitrheim said.  

But with any performance it comes with challenges. 

“Anytime you tackle Shakespeare the language is the first barrier for the actor and later the audience to overcome,” Eitrheim said. “We started our rehearsals working on the language and delving in to how to ‘play’ Shakespeare,” he said. “We have spent quite a bit of time dissecting this script to get clues from Shakespeare about the characters he portrays in this show and how we might bring those characters to life.” 

Eitrheim said the show was casted in mid-March with rehearsals beginning shortly after. 

“These students have really been working hard to get these lines down, while working with the language, all the while creating rich and memorable characters,” he said. 

Event Details:

What: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

When: May 2, 3, 4 at 7 p.m. and May 5 at 1:30 p.m. 

Where: Owatonna High School

Tickets: Tickets will be sold at the door one hour before the show begins and will be available on Hometown Ticketing. Activity passes are accepted. The cost is $5 for students and seniors, and $8 for all adults.