The Wilton Playshop Presents ROMEO AND JULIET, Opens 7/23

Romeo and Juliet Opens Friday Summer Student Stage Shop Production, A New Look for the "Two Households" 

By Nicholas Dehn

This year's Wilton Summer Student Playshop will take on the timeless tragedy of "Romeo and Juliet" with performances beginning July 23rd through July 31st. High school and college students from in and around Wilton, including familiar faces from previous WSSP and WHS productions, appear in the Verona-set play full of heartbreak and woe.

Directors Kevin McGuire and Mat Young (who, respectively, portray Prince Escalus of Verona and the patriarch of the House of Capulet in the production) have taken the play "out of its natural setting and are trying to contemporize the play and bring out different themes and ideas that aren't really touched upon outside of Romeo and Juliet," says McGuire, who himself is a graduate and returning director of the summer program.

Everyone knows the classic tale of Verona's "star-cross'd lovers" Romeo Montague (played by Wilton's Jack Mason) and Juliet Capulet (played by Wilton's Annabelle Fox), whose secret romance ultimately leads to accord between their warring families-but at much too high a price. That is the precise reason behind Kevin and Mat's distinctive approach to the oft-performed play.

Featuring '30s-esque industrial sets, gender reversals, colorfully dressed Capulets amongst black-and-white frocked Montagues and a extravagant ballroom dance number, the new approach to the old tale will also take into account the play's more delicate subject matter.

"I think that [...] the core of the play is the relationships, so it didn't really matter what gender a certain actor was. We wanted to get at the relationships, so we may have some unconventional casting, but it hasn't made a difference [...] the relationships are truthful and honest," says Young, who has also previously directed WSSP productions.

McGuire and Young recently appeared in their Dessert First Productions' version of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)" at The Playshop.

Not only is the production stylistically innovative, this year's show is almost fully student-run, with the cast participating hands-on with sets, lights, costumes, props, stage combat, and publicity. "It's really interesting to be able to work with the students on stage and show how we go about a process and give and take from them," said Young.

Other Wiltonians in the cast are Sarah Anderson, Jack Bender, Michelle Cinguina, Hilary Clifford, Christopher Dehn, Nicholas Dehn, Katie Keating, Kelly Kesler, Christopher Kozlowski, Jenna Mason, Bridget Sirotnak, Eric Smolen and Amy Sullivan. Brianna Bowman of Bethel and Emma Sacchetti of Norwalk are also in the cast.
Producer is Sharon Anderson; Technical Director is Chris Randazzo.

"Romeo and Juliet" opens on Friday, July 23rd at 8 pm with performances on Friday, July 24th; Thursday, July 29th; Friday, July 30th; and Saturday, July 31st, all at 8 pm.
The Wilton Summer Student Playshop program is produced by The Wilton Playshop and is open to students from those entering high school through college.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students/seniors. To order tickets, visit www.wiltonplayshop.org or call The Wilton Playshop at 203-762-7629.

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