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REEDSPORT — It will be news to most residents, but there have been some major changes in Reedsport’s local government.

Parents have been given exclusive power to arrange marriages, and the city council has disbanded, installing the high school principal as the supreme ruler. The penalty for defying either authority is death.

Such is “the law of Reedsport,” as it is described in the Rising Tide Live! production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which opens Saturday at Pacific Auditorium.

With Shakespeare’s most commonly produced play, it’s not unusual for a regular theatergoer to have seen more than a dozen productions, each set in a different place and time. But one thing that hasn’t been seen before is the play set in present-day Reedsport.

Among the changes, the characters commonly known as the “mechanicals” have been modernized to reflect the real-life occupations of the Reedsport residents who play them, and one of the sets represents Reedsport Coffeehouse, across the street from the theater.

The localization gives a distinct freshness to director Arlee Olson’s adaptation, and her young cast appears to be having so much fun that it serves as a reminder of why the play is so popular.

“It was hard for me to convince Rising Tide Live! that we could do Shakespeare,” Olson said. “They were like, ‘Well, it’s a small town, community theater … Are you sure we’re ready for this?’ And we are!”

And even when things don’t go as planned — such as when the fairies have trouble catching a prop being thrown back and forth — the result is often entertaining. It’s almost enough to make this new mode of government appear worth a try.

Theseus (Patrick Gross), principal of Reedsport, is discussing plans for his wedding to Hippolyta (Olson) outside the coffeehouse when he’s accosted by local residents with a pressing legal problem: Two high school students are going out, and the girl’s mother doesn’t approve. (Of course, it’s the mother! The gender switch on Egeus is perfect for the modern interpretation, but Olson admits this stroke of genius was mainly accidental.)

Hermia (Jilliana Ellis) and Lysander (Cormic Daily) are a bit young to be thinking about marriage — even by “One Tree Hill” standards — but in a world run by a principal, the youthfulness of the subjects seems appropriate. However, Egeus (Heidi Chamberlin) insists that Hermia should be with Demetrius (Taylor Ladd), though she doesn’t see his charms the way Helena (Camille Tisler) does. And Principal Theseus agrees, offering Hermia three choices: break up with Lysander for Demetrius, become a nun or die.

Lysander has a better idea: They’ll run away, hiding out in the woods outside of town until they can make their way to his aunt’s house (Scottsburg? or maybe up Smith River). They pack their backpacks and leave, with Demetrius on their trail and Helena tailing him.

Unbeknownst to them, the woods are populated with fairies — two rival gangs of fairies. Puck (Katrina Rochon) and a couple of elves (Marcus Gabaldon and Dalton Birch) are loyal to Oberon (Scott Cooper), the fairy king, while Titania (Charissa Hixenbaugh), the queen, commands an entire troupe (Ashton Mann, Kelly DeAmaral, Emily Wright, Lindsey Wright, Yachna Bhakta, Becca Duprau, Alex Glover, Carley Glover, Sara Harold, Bethany Hedges, Whitney Lewis and Samantha Noffsinger).

There’s another group in the forest. Penny Quince (Amanda Rice), a teacher, has organized a small community theater group made up of local working men — Bottom the wrestling coach (Dale Short), Francis Flute the skater/student (Bobby Short), Knox the pool guy (Knox Story), Jeff the carpenter (Jeff Wassun) and the proprietor of Joe’s Gym (Aeron Blackman), who carries a large barbell chained to his leg as his portable gym; Penny’s experience herding first-graders will be invaluable in getting these guys stage-ready. Lacking rehearsal space and preferring to keep their theatrical venture secret until a debut at the principal’s wedding, they, too, decamp to the woods.

But leaving city limits to escape nosy neighbors and the long arm of the law has its price. Both groups of Reedsport residents run into trouble when they get caught in the crosshairs of mischievous fairy spells, which lead to more mismatch-relationship dramas than an episode of “Gossip Girl.” Luckily, the spells are reversible, and there’s plenty of fairy dust to go around.

The cast also includes Linda Rochon and Joseph Hixenbaugh.

The show runs through May 18. Performances are at 7 p.m. Saturdays and next Friday and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $5, except opening night, when they are free with an item to donate to local food banks, and Mother’s Day, when they are free for mothers.