ROMEO AND JULIET Plays Connecticut Rep, 11/29-12/9

Connecticut Repertory Theatre (CRT) will present William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, November 29 – December 9 in the Nafe Katter Theatre, Storrs. For tickets and information, call 860-486-2113 and visit www.crt.uconn.edu.

This timeless tale of "star-cross'd lovers" fills the stage with dizzying swordplay and delightful wordplay. From the first blush of forbidden teenage love, to the blooming of a passion that fuels death itself, Shakespeare's classic love story thrills anew in every generation. In the heat of a raging feud between their two households, teenagers Romeo and Juliet lose their hearts to each other in a chance meeting. With a price on Romeo's head, and Juliet suddenly betrothed to another man, the young lovers share a night of forbidden passion before Romeo flees the city. Juliet's desperate pleas to call off the wedding are denied, and she hatches a secret plan for them to be reunited, with devastating consequences. Connecticut Repertory Theatre winds up 2012 with a play as passionate, comic and frightening as love itself.

For more than 400 years, William Shakespeare's first tragedy Romeo and Juliet has enthralled audiences worldwide. The powerful tragedy is one of the most frequently staged of the Bard's works -- inspiring a Broadway musical, two operas, numerous ballet and dance interpretations, and more than 60 film and television adaptations.

Artistic Director Vincent J. Cardinal said, "Romeo and Juliet is, indeed, a story for the ages. Each generation has seen these young lovers from the unique perspectives of their times. It is the layering of time that has influenced our approach to this production. It is, at first blush, a production firmly rooted in 16th century Italy. The costume silhouettes and the scenic elements are those of Verona in the late 1500s, but the details – an iPod, fluorescent lights, an ancient fresco, a song with synthesizer – emerge as messengers from their eras. It is, after all, a story that we tell today, informed fully by our collective history."

Romeo and Juliet transcend time and place. This production will feature Renaissance and contemporary elements to tell Shakespeare's masterful love story, where two young lovers insist on each other despite the intractable conflict between their two houses. It is a world where young people are cast into a cycle of violence perpetuated by their parents, with catastrophic results. It is a story that is as relevant in 21st century America as it was in 16th century Europe, and likely for all time.

Vincent J. Cardinal (Artistic Director, Head, Dept. of Dramatic Arts) has served as Director of the Performing Arts Center at Adelphi University , Artistic Director of the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre in Coral Gables, FL and Director of Off-Broadway's Circle Repertory Company School of Theater. He graduated in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama where he was honored with the ASCAP-Cole Porter Award for Best-Collected Work. His play, The Colorado Catechism, premiered at Circle Repertory Company; the Los Angeles premiere garnered Dramalogue Awards for actors TimoThy Daly and Amy Van Nostrand. Cardinal's play King Dusyanta: A Tale from Kalidasa premiered at the Oasis Theater Company starring André DeShields. Cardinal directed Eileen Gallindo's Multicultural Disorder for Next Stage, NY, Joe Fox's Prism View at New Dramatists and Paul Corrigan's Queens Blvd. in a commercial off-Broadway run. Cardinal directed Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, Spring Awakening: The Musical, Man of La Mancha and The Odd Couple for Connecticut Repertory Theatre.

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