Casting Announced for ROMEO & JULIET - Kevin Acosta, Courtney Harris & More!

Artes de la Rosa is proud to announce casting for their staging of Shakespeare' s Romeo & Juliet, directed by Artistic Director Adam Adolfo. The world's most famous story of an impossible 'star-crossed' love told against a violent political rebellion in the streets of Havana, 1958, comes to life on the Rose Marine Theater stage. It is a story of desire in a place for pleasure, power, and passion wrapped in the loving words of the world's greatest poet, William Shakespeare... But behind this dazzling world of nightlife, glamour, and romance, the country is fraught with corruption. On the eve of the Castro revolution, you can feel the heat from the winds of Havana as you fall in love with Romeo & Juliet.

Taking the stage in the leading roles of the star crossed lovers are two alumni from Artes de la Rosa's critically acclaimed production of the Tony Award Winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS. Starring as the poetic and sensitive young lover Romeo is the dashing Kevin Acosta. His counterpart, the strong but often misunderstood romantic Juliet is the beautiful Courtney Harris. Making their Artes de la Rosa debut is Fort Worth ISD Theatre Teacher Clyde Berry as Father Laurence and Texas Wesleyan University Senior Kristi Taylor as the Nurse.

Returning to the Rose Marine stage for the first time since the inauguration of the American Classics Theater Initiative with the production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF is Adrian Godinez as Mercutio. He is joined by Parker Fitzgerald as Tybalt, Kyle Trentham as the Prince, and Eduardo Aguilar as Sampson, all most recently seen in the ethereal staging of Oscar Romero's life, THE FIFTH SUN.

Other IN THE HEIGHTS cast members take the stage for this production set in 1958 Havana Cuba including Austin Ray Beck as Benvolio, Rebekah Ruiz as the rarely seen Rosaline, Lorens Portalatin as the dark priestess Apothecary and Michael Alonzo as Balthazar. Many will remember Ms. Portalatin for her 'star' turn as Nina who just had to "Breathe" while Mr. Alonzo earned cheers and ovations for his soaring vocals as the Piragua Guy in IN THE HEIGHTS. Here he takes the stage again to show us his phenomenal vocal technique in several special songs that the Production Team are excited to bring to this Shakespeare classic.

Rounding out the cast making their Artes de la Rosa stage debut are Cameron Allsup as the vicious and contestable Abraham, Jacob Harris as the charming and handsome Paris, Kimberly Butler as Showgirl Ophelia, and Jule Nelson-Duac as the plotting and manipulative Lady Capulet.

"This cast is a great mixture of both those kinds of fresh faces and old favorites. Several of them are 'veterans' of Artes de la Rosa, some most recently having been seen in our production of IN THE HEIGHTS. No less than 6 of those musical theatre actors are returning for ROMEO AND JULIET and all of them are making their Shakespeare debut. For some people, the cast may seem surprisingly young - and it's true - but the energy of this younger cast lends itself to the urgency and impulsiveness of these characters. Shakespeare was telling a very young story that has a pulse and power - and that's what I was after with a young cast. POWER. And this cast brings it with vengeance," offers Artes de la Rosa Artistic Director Adam Adolfo. He goes on to say "These actors are some of the finest I've worked with before, and they bring a sense of legitimacy in the execution of the text. They have such presence and poise (AND POWER), that it's not difficult to believe them speaking this heightened language, it feels like THEIR language, because they command it. That's a lot of energy and power an actor must achieve in order to make us feel like this language is 'casual'."

The production is directed by Adam Adolfo with Choreography by Austin Ray Beck, Rebekah Ruiz, and additional musical staging by Mr. Adolfo. The design team includes Sarahi Salazar (Scenic Design), Marcus Lopez (Costume Design), Juan Gonzalez (Lighting Design), and Adam Adolfo (Sound Design). Romeo and Juliet opens September 13th at the Rose Marine Theater. Please visitwww.ArtesDeLaRosa.org for more information.

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