During this year’s Foo Foo Fest, Pensacola Little Theatre is taking audiences inside a story that is as timeless as it is unexpected. Somebody to Love, opening October 31 and running through November 10 at the Clark Family Cultural Center, reimagines Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream through the lens of 1960s rock ’n’ roll.
The result is part play, part concert, and fully immersive. Rather than remaining in one seat, guests will follow the actors throughout the building, experiencing each scene up close and in motion. “It’s a whole new way to take in theater,” says Ashley Simmons, Marketing Director at Pensacola Little Theatre, who adapted and directs the show alongside her husband, Nathan. “When you have actors two feet away performing, it keeps the audience engaged in a way that feels immediate and alive.”
For Ashley, Midsummer has always held a special kind of magic. She’s acted in it, directed it, and now reshaped it with music that speaks to freedom, longing, and joy. “I’ve always loved the mischief of the fairies and the playfulness of the story—it’s one of Shakespeare’s funniest works,” she says. “The free-love era of the 1960s gave us the perfect backdrop. It’s about couples trying to find the freedom to love who they love, and the music amplifies that.”
At the center of that music is the Jefferson Airplane classic that inspired the title. “I had this vision of Helena singing Somebody to Love, and it fit her story so beautifully,” Ashley recalls. From there, she built a world where Shakespeare’s poetry and the electric spirit of the sixties intertwine, and Foo Foo Fest offers the perfect canvas for such an ambitious production. With the support of festival grants, Pensacola Little Theatre has expanded its vision through imaginative sets, costumes, and staging that stretch the company’s artistry in new ways. “Without the grant funding of Foo Foo Fest, we wouldn’t normally be able to do something like this,” she stresses.
The Festival also gives them a chance to share their work with visitors from near and far. “It brings new audiences into our orbit, and that’s exciting for us,” she adds.
The timing is especially fitting. Fresh from a $7 million renovation, the Clark Family Cultural Center has been transformed, and Somebody to Love takes full advantage of its revitalized spaces. The finale unfolds on the theatre’s brand-new rooftop venue—still closed to the general public—where audiences will watch the final scene against sweeping views of downtown Pensacola on one side and the bay on the other. A post-show cocktail reception on the rooftop offers one more moment to savor both the performance and the setting. “We’re so excited to be putting this production on for our community and visitors alike during Foo Foo Fest,” Ashley says. “It’s uplifting, funny, mystical, and unlike anything else you’ll see this fall.”
Tickets for Somebody to Love are available at pensacolalittletheatre.com.