Arizona Theatre Company Presents ROMEO AND JULIET, 11/4-14

ATC proudly presents a limited engagement of ROMEO AND JULIET, the 'greatest love story ever told,' performed by two of America's premier classical theatre companies for a limited run, November 4-7 at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix and November 11-14 at the Temple of Music and Art in Tucson.  The New York Times says, "ROMEO AND JULIET is a play of enormous, reckless passions - clans feud, friends quarrel, and lovers swoon. Here, those passions are met head-on, and with real skill." The Minneapolis Examiner claims, "This ROMEO AND JULIET transcends its classic status by portraying its fated lovers as two swept up in a romance that leads from the heart and not from the head. Whatever your age, it's safe to say this production will make you feel equally smitten." This is a strictly limited engagement of this acclaimed national tour of William Shakespeare's richly poetic tragedy of young love.

Shakespeare's brilliance was never brighter and more piercing than in this tale of young lovers who triumph over, and then fall victim to, two families at war. This masterpiece lives anew for every generation and paints a vivid picture of the moment when the intoxication of youthful passion soars highest. In poetic language unmatched by any writer, the story of two star-crossed lovers has never been so gripping, or so dangerous, as in this stirring new production. 

This is the second time in the last two years that ATC has presented a co-production of the renowned Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company, following the success of Henry V two years ago. That production was hailed by the Arizona Daily Star as "the opportunity to laugh and cry and walk out of the theater feeling enriched," and The Arizona Republic called it, "Scene after scene of near perfection: This is the kind of focused creativity that brings Shakespeare back to life after so many centuries of familiarity."

Penny Metropulos (Director) has previously directed Candida for ATC. She developed the outreach program, Encompass, for Arizona Theatre Company in the 1980s while she was part of the ATC ensemble company.  Ms. Metropulos has spent 19 seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, twelve years serving as Associate Artistic Director. Other Shakespeare credits include the California Shakespeare Festival and Chicago Shakespeare. She has directed several of Shakespeare's works including Twelfth Night and Othello. She is also known for her adaptations of The Three Musketeers, Tracy's Tiger, and The Comedy of Errors: A Musical. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and the Dallas Theater Center.

The cast of ROMEO AND JULIET includes Kaliswa Brewster (Juliet) who has appeared in Daughter at Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Iliad and Comedy of Errors for Aquila Theatre Company, Under Milk Wood at Williamstown Theatre Festival, and The Learned Ladies for SRT.  She is a graduate of American Conservatory Theater, where she appeared in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Wendy Play and Intimate Apparel; Alejandro Rodriguez (Romeo) graduated from the Juilliard School, where he received the Michel St. Denis Prize for outstanding achievement. Professional credits include L'Histoire du Soldat (Bowdoin Music Festival), First Day (Kitchen Theatre), East Village Chronicles (Metropolitan Playhouse), and Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Festival/LA). He recently starred in the short film, Lombries; Ray Chapman (Friar Laurence) previously appeared at ATC in The Illusion. Other credits include The Goodman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, and Utah Shakespearean Festival, among many others;  Sid Solomon (Mercutio/Prince) has performed in New York in David Lindsay-Abaire's Snow Angel  at LCT Directors Lab. Regional credits include Florida Stage, Georgia Shakespeare, Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Company, and Mixed Blood Theatre. He is also the recipient of the Broadway League Rising Star Award.
 
Also featured are Elizabeth Stahlmann (Nurse), who has appeared at the Guthrie Theater in A Christmas Carol, The Real Thing and The End; Benjamin Rosenbaum (Tybalt/Apothecary/Watch), who has appeared at The Guthrie Theater, Gremlin Theatre, University of Minnesota Centennial Showboat and Theatre L'Homme Dieu; Jonathan C. Kaplan (Lord Capulet), who has appeared on Broadway in Falsettos (Tony Award nomination, Theatre World Award) and Diary of Anne Frank. His Off-Broadway performances include It Must Be Him, Plaisir D'amour, Rags and Loman Family Picnic; Whitney Hudson (Lady Capulet), who has performed at The Guthrie Theater, Shakespeare on the Cape and Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theater; Jason McDowell-Green (Lord Montague/Capulet Guest), who appeared off-Broadway in Streamers (Roundabout); Jamie Smithson (Paris/Gregory); John Skelley (Benvolio); Stephen Pilkington, and Elizabeth Grullon (Peter).
 
The creative team for ROMEO AND JULIET includes Neil Patel (Set Designer), who designed The Clean House at ATC in 2008.His other Acting Company credits include The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, The Tempest, The Spy and Henry V.  Mr. Patel has designed many Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional and opera productions in the United States and abroad. He has twice been honored with an OBIE Award for sustained excellence; Michael Chybowski (Lighting Designer) designed Three Tall Women at ATC in 1996. His Acting Company credits include Romeo and Juliet,  Henry V, The Spy, Moby Dick Rehearsed, Tempest, Jane Eyre, Macbeth, Three Musketeers, Turn of the Screw, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Heart Is A Lonely Hunter, Murder By Poe, Richard III. His New York credits include Hair, Lieutenant of Inishmore, Wit, Beckett/Albee and Hamlet; Mathew J. LeFebvre (Costume Designer)returns to ATC where he designed costumes for the current production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, as well as A Raisin in the Sun and Jitney. His Off-Broadway credits include Two Trains Running and Bach at Leipzig. Mr. LeFebvre has designed costumes for twenty productions at The Guthrie Theater. Other regional credits include Penumbra, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Trinity Repertory Company, The Cleveland Play House and Geffen Playhouse; Victor Zupanc (Music Composition and Direction), who has composed music forover 250 plays at venues including La Jolla Playhouse, The Guthrie, Playwrights Horizon, New Victory, BAM, Kennedy Center, San Diego, Missouri and Berkeley Reps; Scott W. Edwards (Sound Designer) returns to ATC where he designed The Kite Runner and A Midsummer Night's Dream; Felix Ivanoff (Fight Director); Marcela Lorca (Choreographer); ElizaBeth Smith (Voice and Speech Consultant); and Dakin Matthews (Dramaturg).

Arizona Theatre Company offers accessibility services for patrons with disabilities for select performances. Large print and Braille playbills and infrared listening amplificationdevices are available at every ATC performance with reservation. TTY access for the box office is available in Phoenix at (602) 256-1144 and in Tucson at (520) 884-9723 or via Arizona Relay at (800) 367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).

Adult tickets start at $30 depending on date and section choice and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the box office in Phoenix at (602) 256-6995 or in Tucson at (520) 622-2823. Youth tickets are available for $10. Discounts are also available for students, seniors and active military on specific performance days. Half-price rush tickets are available for balcony seating for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC box office (subject to availability). For discounts on groups of eight or more, call (602) 256-6995 (Phoenix) or (520) 622-2823 (Tucson).

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