🫨🎭 Coachella on the Common?!

🚲 Pssst! Bluebikes is offering free $10 credits to help you out during the Red Line shutdown. Just use code BLUECROSSMBTA26 in the app (while supplies last). Pass it on!

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Imagine: A Shakespeare play and Coachella had a baby. Well, it would probably look like the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from July 22 through Aug. 9. Yep, we’re talking about Shakespeare on the Common, baby.

Here’s what to know:

🎭 For the uninitiated: Shakespeare on the Common is exactly what it sounds like. A Shakespeare play … performed on Boston Common … and it’s 100% free. Just show up with a blanket, grab a snack (leave the booze at home), and enjoy the show under the summer stars. 

📝 Need the Midsummer SparkNotes? We got you: “Four young lovers run off into the woods to the land of the fairies, and over the course of a midsummer night, everyone’s lives get turned upside down,” summarized actor Nora Eschenheimer, who plays Titania, the queen of the fairies. “At its very core, it’s a play about love and the right and wrong ways we find it. From young lovers, to a fairy and a donkey.” Need the real SparkNotes? Start here. 

💅 Out: Pumpkin pants. In: Go-go boots. Translation: Instead of running into the forest, the lovers run off to a massive musical festival a la Burning Man or Coachella. There are neon lights, the fairies have light-up bicycles, even Eschenheimer’s character dons sparkly go-go boots. After all, “in Shakespeare’s day, all of these would have been modern plays,” Eschenheimer said. “There’s no reason we should be wearing pumpkin pants now.”

🌟 The star of the show? The set. Which has its own sort of wild reveal: It starts off very gray, stark, and covered in linen fabric strips. But as the lovers enter the land of the fairies, the fairies rip away the gray, revealing the most extraordinary Burning Man love playground. We’re sat.

🧠 It’s all about making Will’s work approachable and accessible. Yes, it’s obviously free. But according to Eschenheimer, the goal is to leave thinking, “oh, I got this, I understood this, I enjoyed this, and I’m going to seek out more of this.” One of the best compliments she ever heard while doing Shakespeare on the Common? “They weren’t doing Shakespeare.” Lol.

🥹 And this production is a lil’ extra special. Wholesome fact: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was the first play Commonwealth Shakes staged 30 years ago, so it’s very full circle. Plus, “the performances will take place throughout the more gorgeous part of midsummer here in Boston,” Eschenheimer said. “We’re literally sharing a midsummer night.” Aw. <3

❓ Have ye more questions? Here are ye answers.

🌀👁️ That’s just what a typical visit to WNDR Boston feels like. With 20 immersive installations that bend light, space, and perception, this Downtown Crossing experience gets more surreal with every room. Explore the art, play with the unexpected, and snap photos that look like they belong in another universe. Grab your tickets and prepare to question your eyeballs.

🤸 “Make Massachusetts fun again.” — probably state lawmakers. Enter: “The fun agenda,” a slate of amendments in a new economic development bill that some state senators say will help make our uptight little state a place people actually want to stay (out). Think: Ditching the happy hour ban, keeping public drinking districts, and making later last calls permanent. Shoutout World Cup! (This idea literally came to them at a post-soccer match dance party.) And while similar pushes have often fallen apart, Healey is apparently down …

🚲 Mass DCR to cyclists: SLOW DOWN. After hearing residents’ concerns about cyclists, scooters, and e-bikes flying down shared-use paths, the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation installed new speed boards across the state, including in JP and along the Esplanade. Cruise by at a safe speed and you'll get a cute smiley face; go full speed demon and you’ll get a stern “SLOW DOWN.” And so far, go good! DCR says the boards have helped reduce speeds on some paths and have gotten a thumbs-up from users.

😋 Table for one? These are the spots for dining solo (and people watching). Globe food writer Kara Baskin put together a fab lineup of restaurants that tick all the boxes: the dishes are sized for one, the people-watching is priceless, and the food is actually good. Think: Lou’s in Harvard Square with its library-meets-nightclub energy and professor-to-politician clientele, or Eastie’s La Tavernetta, a waterfront spot so glam it looks like “The White Lotus” could film an episode there. Here’s the full list.  

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Our long-distance relationship with the Scots won’t be for long. No, really! Boston creator Narcolepsy Betsy just announced she’s teaming up with EF Ultimate Break to host a five-night trip to Edinburgh, Scotland next summer … to have a reunion with the Scots. AH! The trip will cover tons of tours, meals, and a fun lil’ trip to the Scottish Highlands. The deadline to express your interest here is July 24, so get to it, lassies!

Angry Orchard Terrace at Fenway Park is now open! Located behind the bleacher seats, it offers barstool seating and plenty of standing room with places to rest your drink. The best part? Angry Orchard is serving a limited-edition Watermelon Slice Cider that we are loving this summer. At 5% ABV, Watermelon Slice features a light and refreshing blend of watermelon and apple. Our recommendation? Order it as a slushie in a color-changing collectible cup.

Now on the market: The ‘Gilmore Girls’ house. 

Lorelai and Rory Gilmore might’ve lived in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Conn., but their OG house is officially for sale … in Canada.

Yes, the beloved TV series was technically filmed in a Burbank studio, but this charming home in Ontario, Canada, actually served as the mother-daughter duo’s digs in the pilot episode. And fans just recognized it was THE “Gilmore Girls” residence.

No surprise, the four-bed, four-bath house is absolutely gorgeous: Original pine flooring, wood-beamed ceilings, adorable nooks and crannies, and a finished basement fit for a GG re-watch. *chef’s kiss*

Also unsurprising? The price. Located at 31 Victoria Ave. in Markham, Ontario, the house is currently for sale for $2.76 million USD (def out of Lorelai’s price range).

— Written by Emily Schario

🌼 Thanks for reading! TBH, we'd take over 1,000 yellow daisies any day.

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, WNBR Boston, for supporting local journalism and making sure Bostonians’ camera rolls stay interesting.

🎟️ The results are in: While over 62% of B-Siders have avoided ticket reseller scams, a good chunk of you have fallen victim to one. One said they “bought a pit ticket for xfinity and when it was delivered it was lawn 🙃.” Bruh.

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