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Press Release

FORGOTTEN LORE THEATRE

Contact: Robert Reutter                                                                                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Phone: 732-977-2580                                                                                                    Created: August 26, 2021

Email: artisticteam@forgottenlore.org

Iconic film star, Will Keenan returns to his Shakespeare and Philly roots in “Lovers and Madmen: Visions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, as part of this year’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Devon, PA: Will Keenan, cult-film star, stuntman, producer, and spiritualist, will appear in “Lovers and Madmen: Visions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream” during this year’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival.  Produced in partnership between Forgotten Lore Theatre and Widener University’s Lone Brick Theatre Company, this immersive retelling of Shakespeare’s classic will be staged at Widener University’s Taylor Memorial Arboretum in Wallingford PA; the show runs from September 16 – 19, 2021. 

“Lovers and Madmen” welcomes audiences to explore the world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by walking amongst the fairies and encountering the surprising occupants of the magical woods.  The opportunity to present Shakespeare in an immersive format appealed to Keenan, who relocated to Cape May County, New Jersey in 2016.

“I’m excited to get back to my roots in both Shakespeare and Philly, where I was born. This project came at just the right time, and with the right people,” Keenan said of his debut with Forgotten Lore Theatre. “The cast and crew is one of the most fun, expert, and hardworking in my career, and R.A. Reutter is a wonderfully seasoned director who’s incredibly supportive of my unique take on the classic character of Peter Quince.”

Keenan was first launched to film and fan stardom in another adaptation of Shakespeare’s work as the eponymous Tromeo in Troma’s cult classic, Tromeo and Juliet, directed by Lloyd Kaufman and written by James Gunn. A fifteen-year veteran of the film industry in Hollywood, New York, and Bollywood, Keenan has over 30 films to his credit as an actor including the world’s first fully digital feature film ("Love God" '98; screened at the Philadelphia Int'l Film Festival) and the very last black & wide widescreen musical ever shot on film ("The Ghastly Love of Johnny X" '12).

Since returning to New Jersey, Keenan has focused his creative and charitable energies on St. Babs Church of All Religions Spiritual, Arts & Recovery Refuge a community-engendering and outreach project inspired by and named for Keenan’s mother.

Beyond the fairies of Midsummer fame, audiences at “Lovers and Madmen” will find the Athenian forest home to the likes of Ariel, Caliban, and Hecate as Shakespeare’s magical worlds blend into a new telling of the beloved comedy.  “Lovers and Madmen” is an entirely ambulatory show, letting audiences explore the beauty of Taylor Memorial Arboretum. 

Forgotten Lore Theatre’s “Lovers and Madmen,” staged as part of the 2021 FringeArts Festival, runs September 16 – 19 at Taylor Memorial Arboretum with performances at 8:00 pm and 2:00 pm matinees on September 18 and 19.  Tickets can be purchased through Fringe Arts at fringearts.com.  For more details on the show, consult their website at forgottenloretheatre.org.

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EVENT: Lovers and Madmen: Visions of Midsummer Night’s Dream

WHERE: Taylor Memorial Arboretum, 10 Ridley Dr, Wallingford, PA 19086

WHEN: September 16-19 at 8:00pm and September 18-19 at 2:00 p.m.

PRICE: $20 General Admission

RUN TIME: 1 hour, 55 minutes

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ABOUT FORGOTTEN LORE THEATRE

Forgotten Lore Theatre is a Chester County-based theater company established in 2015 and specializing in immersive and fringe performance. It is the company’s vision that art is created in the numinous space between artist and audience. Through innovative and experimental performances, Forgotten Lore fosters unique theatrical experiences for each audience member in an effort to keep the communal art of storytelling alive.

ABOUT LONE BRICK THEATRE COMPANY

Lone Brick Theatre is Widener University’s resident theatre company dedicated to producing non-traditional theatre through innovative scripts, staging, directing, and performance. Drawing from the talent and ingenuity of Widener’s students, faculty, and staff alike, the company also seeks to give a creative voice to the rich diversity of the campus community while broadening the traditional role of theatre as a humanities discipline by actively seeking venues for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival is a 4-week long, city-wide celebration of innovation and creativity in contemporary performance. Each September, the Festival explodes into every nook and cranny of Philadelphia with more than 1,000 artistically daring performances, including national and international performances curated by FringeArts, and works that are produced by independent artists and promoted by FringeArts.