Concert Park To Host Open-Air Theater, Music & Cultural Festivals This Summer

DANBURY — Music, comedy, drama and dancing will be among the many art forms to take the stage at Ives Concert Park this summer.

The fine arts season will begin in July when Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is staged at 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, July 10-11. A Midsummer’s Night Dream is perhaps Shakespeare’s most popular and widely performed comedy. This adaptation is 90 minutes filled with the humor of knotted love triangles, the pranks of mischievous fairies, and the farcical ineptitudes of a band of tradesmen turned actors in an effort to win a prize at the wedding of the great Theseus, Duke of Athens.

Children are encouraged to come early to participate in creative dramatics, crafts and games and become part of the production.

Reynard the Fox will be staged at 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday, July 11 and 12. A classic French fable written by Arthur Fauquez, Reynard the Fox tells the story of merry trickster Reynard, a sly but hilarious practical joker who goes a bit too far with his tricks.

Into the Woods, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine, will be staged at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, July 17-25. The show, presented by Sabrina’s Encore Productions, combines some of the most popular of Grimm’s Fairy Tales into one epic journey.

Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Jack with his beanstalk participate in a timeless commentary on a world where princes double as wolves, and where “wishes come true, not free.”

Tickets for this show are $18 adults, $15 students and seniors, and $12 for ages 12 and under; group discounts are available for ten or more. Doors will open at 6 pm for picnics.

Into the Woods will be performed by a cast of seventh through tenth grade actors, accompanied by a live, professional six-piece orchestra. For ticket information, call 304-1235 or visit SabrinasEncoreProductions.com.

Shakespeare returns at 7:30 pm on Sunday, August 2, with a performance of The Tempest. Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest has been described by some critics as a comedy and by others as a romance. It may be more of an autobiographical work in which the playwright has cast himself as the sorcerer, Prospero, in an attempt to “get his house in order.”

Set on an enchanted island filled with surprises, it’s a story that will appeal to both young fans of Harry Potter and more serious Shakespeare aficionados alike.

Tickets for theater performances (except for the Sabrina’s Encore Productions show) are $20 for , $15 students, $10 seniors, and $40 for a family pack.

At 2 pm on Sunday, August 9, the Ives Old Tyme Circus, a children’s stage show, will take the stage.

On Friday, August 14, the Ives On-Stage Jazz Cabaret will present “A Salute to Sinatra” with The Mike Berkowitz Orchestra. Drummer and conductor Berkowitz currently is Liza Minelli’s musical director and has played with and conducted for Billy Joel, Elton John, Bette Midler and The Nelson Riddle Orchestra.

The concert will feature a night of Big Band Swing, dancing and dessert under the stars. This limited-seating event is a fundraiser to benefit the Charles Ives Authority for the Performing Arts. Performance time, ticket prices and information are all TBA.

As the summer winds down, Ives Concert Park will host a number of cultural festivals. Times and ticket information are still being determined.

On Sunday, August 16, there will be an Ecuadorian Festival.

From Friday, September 11, through Sunday, September 13, Ives Concert Park will host an Irish Festival.

The season finale will be the annual Ives Concert Park Family Fair, set to begin at 2 pm on Sunday, September. 20. This free, multicultural celebration of the arts salutes the diversity and the rich history of the greater Danbury area. Daylong festivities feature local performers such as the Philippine Cultural Group, Salsa Dancers, Sons of Portugal Folklore Dance Group, Ecuadorian Folk Dancers, Middle Eastern Belly Dancers and Polynesia Dancers, Cultural Drummers, Marriachi band and the rousing Irish Mighty Ploughboys.

There will be children’s entertainment and strolling Civil War re-enactors. Additional highlights include a giant scarecrow, hay rides and a huge obstacle course. A variety of arts and crafts also will be featured, ranging from sand art to Russian handcrafts.

The day will culminate with a performance by the Ives Festival Orchestra.

Ives Concert Park is on the westside campus of Western Connecticut State University, off Mill Plain Road. Tickets for most events are on sale at wcsu.edu/tickets, by calling 837-TIXX (837-8499), or at the WCSU box office in the Westside Campus Center on the university’s westside campus.