Robinson Drama Presents World Premier

theatre students are serving as Ken Ludwig's guinea pigs.

The renowned playwright, whose Crazy for You, winner of the 1992 Tony Award for Best Musical, is currently being revived on London's West End, sees his Midsummer/Jersey premiered at the school this weekend.

According to the Washington Post, Ludwig's intention, "was to see if Midsummer/Jersey had adolescent legs: in other words, whether it contained the kind of juicy parts and comic firepower that would make it popular on the high school circuit, where Samuel French, the august company that licenses Ludwig’s plays, hopes to market it."

Most plays in the Samuel French catalog are standards like Our Town.  Ludwig wanted to write something specifically for high school presentation.

Midsummer/Jersey is as a modern language cross between Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream and MTV's Jersey Shore. "There are “Guido” and “Guidette” teens, New Jersey hairdressers, and magical fairies meddling in the human’s lives," said a Robinson news release.

The Post said by choosing a school near his Washington, D.C. home, Ludwig had a "local laboratory" for his production and the book he's writing about teaching Shakespeare to children.

Robinson Drama presents Ken Ludwig’s Midsummer/Jersey on Nov. 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the school's Russell Theatre.  Tickets are available online for $10; they're $12 at the door.

Note:Robinson's Theatre Arts website reports Friday night is sold out.