At Singleton Center, 'star-cross'd lovers' by all-male and all-female casts The Commonwealth Times

Cory Johnson
Staff Writer

An adaptation of Shakespeare’s universally recognized “Romeo and Juliet” is opening at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29 at Raymond Hodges Theater in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts.

But this isn’t a typical production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

The timeless love story will be performed by two different casts: one all male and the other all female.

Adapted by Joe Calarco in 1998, “R + J” merges the emotion and language of Shakespeare with that of the modern high-school students the actors portray.

rj 3 — The 1998 adaptation, "R+J" by Joe Calarco, frames Shakespeare''s work as discovered and read by a group of students in a single-sex Catholic school.

Where most people remember the inspiration for this production, “Romeo and Juliet,” Calarco’s adaptation goes beyond Verona, adding layers of modern influence as acted out by Catholic school students in a single-sex student body.

“It creates this bridge between the two completely different times and shows you that we’re not so different from when Shakespeare was writing,” said senior cast member Austin Graham Seay.

Calarco’s modern take on Shakespeare’s work aims to make theater more accessible to its audience.

“It was not written to be read in English classrooms; these (are) pieces of theater,” said Stephen Fried, director of the male cast. “I hope that people will come to see it and come to understand that the stuff they have been forced to read in an English high school (class); it was actually meant for a much livelier stage than that.”

Senior theater major and male cast member Matt Bloch said, “We’ve had the opportunity to delve into the show. You really appreciate how much work went into this and how beautiful it really all is.”

The cast said it hopes this production makes a statement that Shakespeare is still relevant for a reason, evoking feeling and emotion from audiences today.

Joe Calarco’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” will run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 8, with a double feature on the last day. For tickets, call 804-828-6026, email the box office at theatretix@vcu.edu or visit vcutheatre.showclix.com. Tickets are $25 for general admission; $20 for seniors and VCU faculty and staff and $10 for VCU students with a valid ID.