Play combines Shakespeare, 'Jersey Shore'

A group of high school actors is taking on an unusual project: a mashup of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Jersey Shore.”

Columbia Falls High School’s Drama Club performs “Midsummer/Jersey” starting this weekend at the school’s Little Theatre.

The play is Broadway playwright Ken Ludwig’s rewriting of the Shakespeare classic, club adviser Matt Ford said,

“The kids wanted to do a comedy, and I didn’t think they were ready to do a full-on Shakespeare play,” he said. “I read through this [play] and loved it.”

“It’s kind of a play on the popularity of ‘Jersey Shore.’ It squeezes those two together,” he added. “It’s more friendly for high-schoolers to do than a Shakespearean play.”

The play features the central characters from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with a twist. Rather than the marriage of Theseus, the duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, “Midsummer/Jersey” revolves around the impending nuptials of the governor of New Jersey.

Thirty-three students are involved in the show, said Ford, who promised audiences a fun experience.

“It’s really fun and enjoyable,” Ford said. “And the kids are far more talented than you’d ever give high-schoolers credit for.”

Show time is 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and March 8 and 9.

Tickets are available at the door; cost is $7 for adults and $4 for students. Children 12 and younger get in for free.