Jose Martinez and Larica Schnell to Play Star Cross'd Lovers in ROMEO AND JULIET at The Old Globe; Cast, Creatives Set!

The Old Globe today announced the cast and creative team for The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program presentation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Directed by San Diego favorite and Globe veteran Delicia Turner Sonnenberg (Skeleton Crew), the classic romantic tragedy will run November 11 - November 19, 2017 in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Opening night is Saturday, November 11 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets to Romeo and Juliet are now on sale and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office.

The Montague and Capulet families are at war. When Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet by chance, the two lovers defy their entire world to be together. Acclaimed San Diego director Delicia Turner Sonnenberg's audacious modern production goes beyond sentimental stereotypes to reveal the raw and powerful love story that ignites an inferno in a dangerously divided community.

"The Old Globe and USD Shiley Graduate Theatre Program is one of our country's leading professional actor training conservatories, and I'm as proud of the work the Globe does in nurturing the next generation of American actors as I am of anything else in this institution's life," said Old Globe Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "First-rate talent thrives in this program, talent that will shape American entertainment in the future. In Romeo and Juliet, a Shakespearean favorite, that talent will be on dazzling display, as will the directing skill of our good friend Delicia Turner Sonnenberg. I look forward to sharing this glimpse of our best emerging talent with San Diego's audiences."

The cast features Carlos Angel-Barajas (Benvolio, First Watchman), Samuel Max Avishay (Prince, Chorus), Yadira Correa (Lady Capulet), Daniel Ian Joeck (Capulet), Jose Martinez (Romeo), Renard Charles Pringle Jr. (Friar Lawrence, Montague Servant, Masker), Larica Schnell (Juliet), Jersten Seraile (Gregory, Paris), Samantha Sutliff (Nurse, Sampson, Second Watchman), Morgan Taylor (Tybalt, Apothecary, Third Watchman), Wenona Truong (Lady Montague, Party Guest, Balthasar, Friar John), Jared Van Heel (Montague, Servant, Peter), and Eric Weiman (Mercutio, Abram, Page).

The creative team includes Brian Redfern (Scenic Design), Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design), Sherrice Mojgani (Lighting Design), Melanie Chen Cole (Sound Design), Jan Gist (Vocal Coach), Brian Byrnes (Movement Coach), Amanda Peñaloza-Banks (Choreographer), Abraham Stoll (Dramaturg), and Nicole Ries (Production Stage Manager).

A joint venture of The Old Globe and the University of San Diego, the master of fine arts in acting program nationally recruits seven students each year to participate in an intensive two-year, year-round course of graduate study in classical theatre. Private funding for the program has been contributed through a generous endowment established by Donald and Darlene Shiley. Additional support for the program is provided by The Dorothy Brown Endowment Fund and the Louis Yager Cantwell Foundation. Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego. For additional information, visit www.globemfa.org.

Delicia Turner Sonnenberg (Director) is a founder and former Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre, where she directed many acclaimed productions. Last season she made her Old Globe debut directing Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew. She has also directed plays for San Diego Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego State University, Cygnet Theatre Company, Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company, New Village Arts, Diversionary Theatre, ion theatre company, and Playwrights Project. Her honors include Theatre Communications Group's New Generations Program grant, the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Awards, Women's International Center Living Legacy Award, Van Lier Fund fellowship (Second Stage Theatre), and the New York Drama League's Directors Project.

Tickets to Romeo and Juliet are $19 and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances at the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre begin on Nov. 11 and continue through Nov. 19. Performance times: Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 16 at 8:00 p.m., Friday, Nov. 17 at 8:00 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Discounts are available for students, USD faculty and staff, seniors, active military, and groups of 15 or more.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Carlos Angel-Barajas (Benvolio, First Watchman) is in his first year with The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. He has appeared regionally in Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and The Rover (Santa Cruz Shakespeare). Locally he has appeared in Romulus Killgore's Mobile Happiness Bazaar (La Jolla Playhouse's Without Walls Festival) and How to Use a Knife (UC San Diego's Wagner New Play Festival). He received his B.A. in Theatre from UC San Diego.

Samuel Max Avishay (Prince, Chorus) was last seen at the Globe in Hamlet and King Richard II. He is an M.F.A. student at The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. His prior credits include Chuck in The Maderati, Chorus in Ajax, and Thurio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Globe/USD) and Achilles in Aulis: An Act of Nihilism in One Long Act (Zellerbach Playhouse). Prior to beginning graduate studies at University of San Diego, he studied cooking and butchery at Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Eatrip in Tokyo. He received his B.A. in History with a focus on International Food History from UC Berkeley. He speaks Hebrew, French, and Spanish and has studied Japanese and Arabic.

Yadira Correa (Lady Capulet) is a native of Puerto Rico. She was recently seen as Gratiano in the all-female production of The Merchant of Venice (Cardinal Stage Company) and the special event production of 2666 (Goodman Theatre). She has worked with TheatreSquared, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Court Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Teatro Vista, Collaboraction, About Face Theatre, Vitalist Theatre, Sour Mash Productions, and UrbanTheater Company. Her credits include Quiara Alegría Hudes' Water by the Spoonful, Tanya Saracho's Enfrascada (A Jarring Comedy of Hoodoo Proportions) (16th Street Theater, Renaissance Theaterworks), as well as most ensemble-devised works at Teatro Luna (2003-2009), including Machos, Lunatica(s), Solo Tu, S-e-x-Oh!, and Jarred. Her television and film credits include "Blindspot," "Crime," "Chicago P.D.," the independent film Imperfections, and the web series "Dentally Challenged." Ms. Correa is an alumna of the School at Steppenwolf.

Daniel Ian Joeck (Capulet) was last seen in the Globe's productions of Hamlet and King Richard II. He is in his second year as an M.F.A. candidate with The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. In the program, he has played Martin in The Maderati, Menelaus in Ajax, and The Duke in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. His regional credits include Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew (Nebraska Shakespeare Festival), The Learned Ladies and The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Shakespeare & Company), and Ramona Quimby (Children's Theatre Company). In Minneapolis, he has worked with Classical Actors Ensemble, Park Square Theatre, The Moving Company, Walking Shadow Theatre Company, Savage Umbrella, Theatre Pro Rata, Starting Gate Productions, and Wayward Theatre Company.

Jose Martinez (Romeo) recently made his Old Globe Summer Shakespeare Festival debut in Hamlet and King Richard II. Some of his other favorite credits include Keene in The Maderati, Pepe in My Mañana Comes at San Diego Repertory Theatre, Orcus in She Kills Monsters, Mau in Nation, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream. MR. Martinez is currently a student in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program.

Renardo Charles Pringle Jr. (Friar Lawrence, Montague Servant, Masker) appeared in Hamlet and King Richard II earlier this year, and he has appeared with The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program as Teucer in Ajax, Ritt in The Maderati, and Antonio in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. His stage work includes Lewis in King John, Belize in Angels in America, Jackson in Pantomime, Costard in Love's Labour's Lost, and the title role in Othello. He also recently appeared on Comedy Central's "Detroiters" as Thomas. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program.

Larica Schnell (Juliet) is originally from Pretoria, South Africa, and is in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. She recently appeared in Hamlet and King Richard II at the Globe. Her previous M.F.A. productions include The Maderati, Ajax, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. In South Africa, she most recently appeared in The Open Couple and Cape of Rebels. Ms. Schnell received her undergraduate degree in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town.

Jersten Seraile (Gregory, Paris) is a first-year M.F.A. candidate in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre PrograM. Romeo and Juliet marks his first appearance at the Globe. He was most recently seen playing Mr. White, Bernard, and Brom Bones in the national tour of Encore! (Chamber Theatre Productions). While on tour, Mr. Seraile made his Off Broadway debut playing Langston Hughes in the one-man show Harlem Blooms in Spring, which he also wrote (Theatre Row). He originated the roles of David and Donavon in the premiere of If We Don't Get It, Shut It Down (Harlem Repertory Theatre). He has also appeared regionally as Buddy "Keno" Walsh in The Full Monty and Bill Sikes in Oliver! (Clear Space Theatre Company). Mr. Seraile earned his bachelor's degree at Eugene Lang College.

Samantha Sutliff (Nurse, Sampson, Second Watchman) made her Summer Shakespeare Festival debut in this summer's Hamlet and King Richard II. She was recently seen as Hostess in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cuddles Molotov in The Maderati, and Chorus Leader 1 in Ajax with The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. She is a B.M. graduate of the Frost School of Music at University of Miami. Before arriving in San Diego from Los Angeles, she starred in the award-winning film Plaything and the hit web series "The Leslie," following two years working for Carnival Cruise Line as a vocalist. Some of her favorite roles include Antigone in Antigone and Mary Lane in Reefer Madness (University of Miami).

Morgan Taylor (Tybalt, Apothecary, Third Watchman) was most recently seen as the title role in Eurydice (Oceanside Theatre Company). Her other credits include Baby with the Bathwater (Oceanside Theatre Company), Orlando (Elements Theatre Collective), and The Arabian Nights, Absolutely! (Perhaps), and The Merchant of Venice (UC Santa Barbara). She is a first year in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program and received her B.F.A. from UC Santa Barbara.

Wenona Truong (Lady Montague, Party Guest, Balthasar, Friar John) was last seen as Henrietta in Persuasion and Ariel in The Tempest (Livermore Shakespeare Festival) and Masha in Stupid F***ing Bird (Capital Stage). She received her B.A. at University of the Pacific in Theatre Arts with a minor in Psychology.

Jared Van Heel (Montague, Servant, Peter) is a first-year M.F.A. student in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. He has appeared Off Broadway in Hamlet (Stay on Stage Productions) and The Awesome 80s Prom (Davenport Theatrical Enterprises). He has toured internationally with Walking with Dinosaurs (BBC Worldwide/Global Creatures) and nationally with The Trip to Bountiful (Montana Repertory Theatre). His other New York and regional credits include The Liar, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) (Texas Shakespeare Festival), Twelfth Night (Madcap Collective), Antony and Cleopatra (Harlequin Productions), American Midget and Frankenstein Unplugged (Trembling Stage), the world premiere of Frankenstein Unplugged, Cyclone, Betty's Summer Vacation, and Breach (Montana Repertory Theatre), Devil in the Hole (Walking Taco), and others. Mr. Van Heel received his B.F.A. from the University of Montana.

Eric Weiman (Mercutio, Abram, Page) is making his debut with The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. He was most recently in Edmund in King Lear and Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor (Nebraska Shakespeare Festival's Shakespeare on the Green). His regional credits include Henry IV, Part II, The Taming of the Shrew, King Lear, Twelfth Night, and The Comedy of Errors (Utah Shakespeare Festival), Macbeth (USF Shakespeare-in-the-Schools tour), Titus Andronicus and Twelfth Night (Shakespeare on the Green), Peter Piper (Guthrie Theater), Feast of Wolves (Workhaus Collective), and August & Amy (Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater). He is an alumnus of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts' YoungArts competition and of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program.

Brian Redfern (Scenic Design) has designed The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program productions of Pericles, Reckless, Tartuffe, Fathers and Sons, and The Importance of Being Earnest. His designs have been seen at San Diego Repertory Theatre, Summer Rep Theatre Festival, Cygnet Theatre Company, Welk Resort Theatre, Intrepid Theatre Company, ion theatre company, Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company, MOXIE Theatre, New Village Arts, Playwrights Project, and many others. This production of Romeo and Juliet marks his 100th scenic design. Mr. Redfern is currently Assistant Professor of Scenic Design at California State University, Chico and is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local USA829.

Elisa Benzoni (Costume Design) previously designed The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Reckless, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, and Pericles for The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. She is Resident Costume Designer at North Coast Repertory Theatre, where she has designed Craig Noel Award-nominated productions. Her other select credits include Constellations (The Old Globe), Sex with Strangers (Geffen Playhouse), The Who and The What, Our Town, Tall Girls, Brahaman/i, and Sam Bendrix at the Bon Soir (La Jolla Playhouse). Awake and Sing!, Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight, Sylvia, and Much Ado About Nothing (New Village Arts), and Snakeskin, Lifeblood Harmony, Chagall, and A Man Found Wanting (Malashock Dance). Ms. Benzoni's assistant costume design credits include Les Dialogues des Carmélites (Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Italy), Paradise Found (Menier Chocolate Factory, London), Milk Like Sugar (La Jolla Playhouse), and As You Like It and A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Old Globe). She holds an M.F.A. in Costume Design from UC San Diego, where she is currently an adjunct lecturer.

Sherrice Mojgani (Lighting Design) recently designed Skeleton Crew (The Old Globe), Roz & Ray, The Dybbuk for Hannah and Sam's Wedding, Outside Mullingar, My Mañana Comes, Steal Heaven, Honky, The Mountaintop, and Clybourne Park (San Diego Repertory Theatre), The Revolutionist, Blue Door, Ruthless!, Trouble in Mind, Jade Heart, Mud Blue Sky, Skinless, and Freedom of Speech (MOXIE Theatre), Ballast and Bright Half Life (Diversionary Theatre), God of Carnage, Golda's Balcony, The Nutcracker, and To Kill a Mockingbird (New Village Arts), and Art (Intrepid Theatre Company). Ms. Mojgani is an assistant professor in the School of Theater at George Mason University. She holds a B.A. in Theater Arts from UC Santa Cruz and an M.F.A. in Lighting Design from UC San Diego.

Melanie Chen Cole (Sound Design) is excited to be working with The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program again! A San Diego-based freelance sound designer, she has designed over 100 productions in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Her recent regional design credits include The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Pericles (Globe/USD), The Imaginary Invalid (The Old Globe), Mrs. Warren's Profession (A Noise Within), At the Old Place and #SuperShinySara (La Jolla Playhouse), Native Son (UC San Diego M.F.A. Program), American Hero, Having Our Say, Awake and Sing!, and An Iliad (New Village Arts), Travels with My Aunt, An Illusion, and Marjorie Prime (North Coast Repertory Theatre), and Well and 2.5 Minute Ride (Diversionary Theatre). She holds an M.F.A. in Sound Design for Theatre & Dance from UC San Diego.

Jan Gist (Vocal Coach) has been the voice, speech, and dialect coach for The Old Globe on 89 productions, and she has coached at theatres around the country including Ahmanson Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre Company, American Shakespeare Center, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, San Diego Repertory Theatre, North Coast Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, and Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company. She is an original member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA), and she has presented at numerous conferences in addition to Voice Foundation's conferences. Ms. Gist has taught workshops at London's Central School of Speech and Drama and the International Voice Teachers Exchange at the Moscow Art Theatre in Russia. She has been published in numerous VASTA journals and has authored chapters in the books Voice and Speech Training in the New Millennium: Conversations with Master Teachers, The Complete Voice and Speech Workout, and More Stage Dialects.

Brian Byrnes (Movement Coach) previously worked on The Old Globe productions of Red Velvet, Rain, Arms and the Man, The Twenty-seventh Man, and The Winter's Tale, and The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program productions of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, As You Like It, Pericles, Much Ado About Nothing, and Measure for Measure. His other credits include New York theatres, regional theatres, Shakespeare festivals, and motion-capture animation in the U.S. and Sweden. His selected work also includes American Players Theatre, Intrepid Theatre Company, Prague Shakespeare Company, Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, Stages Repertory Theatre, The Ensemble Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, Houston Ballet, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Texas Ballet Theatre, Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, John Housman Theatre, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Westbeth Theatre Center, and others. He is an AEA actor, a director for theatre and opera, and a writer of several plays that have been professionally produced. Mr. Byrnes is a longtime member of the Society of American Fight Directors as a Certified Teacher, Fight Director, and Fight Master.

Amanda Peñaloza-Banks (Choreographer) trained as a contemporary dancer at the London Contemporary Dance School in the early '90s, subsequently touring for 12 years with European dance companies. Her extensive choreographic and movement-education work with dance and theatre professionals and educators has taken her to the U.K., Ireland, Norway, Lithuania, and Kenya. In the U.S., Ms. Peñaloza-Banks teaches Laban principles, creative-movement techniques, and period dance in a variety of educational, academic, community, and professional settings.

Abraham Stoll (Dramaturg) specializes in Renaissance and early modern literature. He has published on Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, and others. He is currently finishing a book, Conscience in Early Modern English Literature, which is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press, and he is beginning work on a new edition of Paradise Lost. Mr. Stoll teaches Shakespeare in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program and is Chair of the English Department at USD.

Nicole Ries (Production Stage Manager) has spent the last six years as Resident Production Stage Manager for The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, where her previous productions include Ajax, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Pericles, Antigone, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, Twelfth Night, Trelawny of the "Wells", Clybourne Park, Reckless, Acquainted with the Night, and The Maderati. Her other regional credits include the Ben Vereen Awards (Broadway/San Diego, 2015-2017), Jade Heart, Coming Attractions, and A Man, His Wife and His Hat (MOXIE Theatre), ManTrap (Diversionary Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors and A Behanding in Spokane (Cygnet Theatre), and Into the Woods, Tom and Huck and Jim, Paradise Hotel, and Little Women: The Musical (San Diego State University). Ms. Ries is currently MOXIE Theatre's Production Manager and has also worked with San Diego Repertory Theatre, Starlight Musical Theatre, Encore Vocal Ensemble, Crazed Imaginations, and Wondrous Strange Productions. Ms. Ries holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Arts Management from San Diego State University.

Sebastian Perfetto (Assistant Stage Manager) has stage managed Ballast, Well, The Boy Who Danced on Air, Now or Later, In the Va Va Voom Room, A Civil War Christmas, Bright Half Life, and A New Brain (Diversionary Theatre), Rent (Southwestern College), Annie (California Youth Conservatory), Much Ado About Nothing, I Hate Hamlet, All My Sons, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night's Dream the Musical (Intrepid Theatre Company). As production assistant and assistant stage manager, his credits include At This Evening's Performance, Ain't Misbehavin', The Fox on the Fairway, Side by Side, and Chapter Two (North Coast Repertory Theatre) and The Two Gentleman of Verona (The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program). Mr. Perfetto is grateful to call Diversionary Theatre his home as both Production Manager and Resident Stage Manager. He has a B.A. in Theatre Arts and Performance Studies from University of San Diego.

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdooR Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, Meteor Shower, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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