Rebecca Goodheart became the new producing director of the Elm Shakespeare Company last year, after two decades of leadership by the company’s founder James Andreassi. Goodheart’s off to a good start, enlisting the great Tina Packer of the Berkshires-based Shakespeare & Co. to direct “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and casting it with a deft mix of Elm Shakespeare regulars (Raphael Massie and Jeremy Funke among them), Shakespeare & Co. members (including Kristin Wold and Dave Demke) and others. Frederick Secrease, from the Czech Republic, plays Oberon.
Another star of the production is Edgerton Park itself. The site inspired the selection of the play, and the production hopes to mirror the play’s nature and city-based environments with the park’s own mix of lawns and buildings.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” runs Aug. 18 through Sept. 4, with performances Tuesday through Sunday at 8 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are suggested and solicited. Edgerton Park is at 75 Cliff St., on the New Haven/Hamden border along Whitney Ave. elmshakespeare.org
Dance Offs
The Sonia Plumb Dance Company has a major performance coming up at the Bushnell in October, but before that the Hartford-based troupe is hosting a couple of Dance Offs that invite area dancers to participate.
The first of these “friendly battles,” inspired by hip-hop dance competitions of the 1980s, is 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at The 224 EcoSpace, 224 Farmington Ave., Hartford. A 1 p.m. master class precedes the event.
All dance styles are welcome, and dancers will be judged on “creativity, musicality and artistic presence.” There are prizes for the first- and second-place winners. Admission is $5 (including to see the master class or participate in the Dance Off). The second Dance Offs will be Sept. 10 at The Garage in New Britain. SoniaPlumbDance.org.
‘What the Butler Saw’
To direct Joe Orton’s “What the Butler Saw,” the Westport Country Playhouse got John Tillinger, who spurred a major Orton revival in the 1980s with successful New York productions of several of the taboo-breaking 1960s comic playwright’s works.
Tillinger in turn enlisted Sarah Manton and Paxton Whitehead from a West Coast production of “What the Butler Saw” in 2014. The play takes the form of a saucy British sex comedy, but goes much further. It plays Aug. 23 to Sept. 10 at Westport Country Playhouse, 25 Powers Court, Westport. Tickets are $30 to $70. 203-227-4177, westportplayhouse.org.
A Supernatural Return
The Supernaturalists, that illusionist ensemble brought together by Criss Angel, initially honed their act with a monthlong stint at Foxwood Resort Casino in the summer of 2015.
The nine-member squad of modern prestidigitators returns to Foxwoods’ Fox Theater, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashuntucket, this month for eight performances Aug. 25 to 28: Thursday at 4 and 7:30 p.m., Friday at 6 and 9:30 p.m., Saturday at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $64-$159. 800-369-9663, foxwoods.com.
Comedy’s Posehn
Brian Posehn — comedian, metalhead ubiquitous TV actor (“Mr. Show,” “The Sarah Silverman Program,” “Just Shoot Me,” “Mission Hill”) — is at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Comix Club for four shows Aug. 18 to 20: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday plus a special “Nasty Show” Saturday at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $55. 860-862-7000, comixcomedy.com.
