by James Wilkinson

 

‘Romeo and Juliet’ Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Lelaina Vogel. Voice and Text Coaching: Daniel Thomas Blackwell. Scenic Design: Christine Williamson. Costume Design: Rachael Linker. Lighting Design: Evyn Newton. Sound Design: Joshua Garcia. Presented by Underlings Theatre Co. at Chelsea Theatre Works Black Box Theater through March 3.

 

Do I even need to provide a summary of the plot to Romeo and Juliet? The details of Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers has seemingly seeped down into the marrow of western civilization. Try as you might, you can’t escape it. Even if you managed to somehow get through high school without reading the original text, you would be forgiven for thinking you knew the story by seeing any of the hundreds of adaptations and riffs on the story in movies, books, operas, television, ballets, musicals, and just about every other form of media out there. The ubiquity of the story in popular culture creates an interesting problem for any theatre company that might decide to take a stab at staging the play. How do you present a play when everyone in attendance thinks that they already know everything? It’s a challenge that the recently formed Underlings Theatre Co has taken up with their new production of the classic play, now running at Chelsea Theatre Works.

 

Read more “The Underlings Theatre Co Sends Shakespeare Back to High School”