REVIEW: UTEP students shine in ‘Shakespeare-inspired’ show

Photo credit: UTEP Playmakers Instagram account

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso is known for its rich cultural diversity. The food, the traditions, etc., but there’s something else that makes the Sun City one of a kind: local talent.

Playmakers is an organization at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) that helps produce student productions in the Department of Theater and Dance.

The organization’s primary goal is to raise scholarship funds for incoming UTEP theater and dance students, according to the UTEP website.

This season, the organization worked on an interpretation of William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with a very interesting twist.

A Mabel production, “Midsummer Nights in Neon Lights” is presented as a late 1960s casino/showgirl fantasy.

The show will run June 21-30, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, at the June Sadowski Kruszewski Studio Theater in UTEP’s Fox Fine Arts building. Tickets are $10 at the door and only cash is accepted.

KTSM had the opportunity to attend Friday’s show and to say that the show is a fun and aesthetic experience is an understatement.

From the fascinating characters to the joyful music and visuals, the elements come together to make it all work.

What makes this show so special is the efforts of local talent – ​​local artists who are not only on stage, but also behind the scenes, making the show possible.

If you too do not want to miss this experience, you still have the opportunity to attend the last weekend of the show at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29 and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 30.