SANTA CRUZ SHAKESPEARE: The Formula by Kathryn Chetkovich

This world premiere is inspired by William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In The Formula, a young neurochemist experimenting with the science of attraction brings an untested formula to his brother’s wedding–with spectacularly disastrous results. By swapping a lab-manufactured substance for Puck’s “love-in-idleness” flower, The Formula poses questions not just about love in a chemical age but also about where and how our notions of true love are born and cultivated in the first place. This whip-smart comedy will have audience members thinking about those biochemical and cultural forces that shape our deepest, truest selves and desires.