August 7 - September 26

For the Dreamers

Step into this fantastical fairy tale, where old-world verse and modern wit mingle. A prophecy proclaims that a new-born leader will usher in an era of tyranny. But what if the fates are wrong? Doesn’t every human deserve a chance to be human? Then again, what if they’re right? Such questions propel the celestial dice we all roll every day. Life, after all, is our greatest adventure, and there’s no adventure without hope. No hope without risk. A love letter to the Spanish Golden Age – funny, bawdy and profound. A singular spectacle like nothing you’ve seen on our Hill stage, perfectly suited to an evening under the portentous stars.

Synopsis

A theatrical exploration of fate vs free will, Prince Segismundo is imprisoned from birth, based on a prophesy that claimed he would grow into a tyrant. But as time passes, his father, King Basilio, has regrets. So he decides to release Segismundo to test if he’s really all that bad. And if it turns out he is? They’ll just return him to his prison and tell him his freedom was all a dream. Throw in a damsel in disguise, a salty servant and power-hungry couple with relationship issues, and you get a funny, absurd and strangely beautiful take on a 17th century classic.

Contains adult language and themes; viewers please take note. Contact the Box Office at 608-588-2361 for specific content information.

Season Select: Sueño

I have long been drawn to Life is a Dream (La Vida es Sueño)—Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s towering masterpiece of the Spanish Golden Age. Written in the 17th century, it has echoed across generations and continents, speaking to audiences who find themselves caught between destiny and desire, illusion and truth.

When I encountered José Rivera’s Sueño (Dream), I felt that same pull—but refracted through a voice that feels immediate, contemporary and alive. Rivera’s adaptation honors the spirit of the original while reimagining it with wit, lyricism and theatrical vitality. It is at once philosophical and playful, intimate and epic. The play does not move in straight lines; it spirals, shifts and unsettles. It asks us not simply to follow a story, but to inhabit a question.

In Rivera’s written introduction to the play, he says: “This is a play full of Big Questions. What is honor? What separates man from the animals? If life is a dream, what happens to free will? If life is a dream, who’s dreaming it?” These questions hover, persistent and luminous, asking us to sit in their uncertainty.

Directing Sueño has meant stepping into a theatrical world shaped as much by imagination as by logic. In our creative process, we carried that spirit forward, immersing ourselves in the play’s rich landscape and the forces that shape it: the haunting presence of an eclipse, the astrological symbols that govern its rhythms, and the tension between fate, freedom and imprisonment—while
grounding the story in the vivid, archetypal characters who bring it to life.

At its heart, Sueño pulses with longing—the longing to be seen, to be loved, to escape one’s confines, to understand who we are when everything we trust feels unstable. These desires are deeply human, bridging centuries and cultures.

My hope is that you discover something of yourself within this dream—that you carry with you images that linger, questions that awaken and emotions that continue to resonate. Like any dream worth remembering, it may not fully reveal its logic, but perhaps it will feel deeply true.

- Marcela Lorca, Director of Sueño