Photo Flash: First Look at SHAKESPEARE'S R&J at Cygnet Theatre

Cygnet Theatre closes its 10th Anniversary Season by presenting the San Diego premiere of Joe Calarco's Shakespeare's R&J. Part Dead Poets Society, part Lord of the Flies, Calarco's work takes audiences to an all-male Catholic boarding school where four schoolboys secretly discover Shakespeare's most famous love story. The show is being presented by Cygnet Theatre now through June 16, 2013. BroadwayWorld has a first look at Cygnet's production below!

The repressive school bans the play in favor of Latin conjugations and the Ten Commandments, but the four students unearth a secret copy and steal into the night to recite the prohibited tale of adolescent passion. The story gradually draws the boys into a discovery of universal truth that parallels their own coming-of-age. A riveting drama within a drama, Shakespeare's R&J transcends the boundaries between play and player. An international phenomenon, Calarco's adaptation has been staged all over the world including Japan.

This emotionally explosive drama is directed by Cygnet Associate Artistic Director George Yé. Currently a faculty member at USD and Mesa College, Yé will also serve as fight director for the 2013 Summer Shakespeare Festival at the Old Globe Theatre and has numerous local credits at The Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse with such hit shows as Allegiance, God of Carnage and Peter and the Starcatcher. His long-time association with Cygnet Theatre dates back to 2006 when he directed a production of Copenhagen at the Rolando Theatre. He has designed sound for numerous Cygnet Theatre productions and received a Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for Escanaba in da Moonlight.

The production is rooted in the cross-gender performances of the Elizabethan stage where men played all the roles. The cast features four graduates from the North Carolina School for the Arts. Featured in the production are Dave Thomas Brown, Christian Daly, Tyler Lea and John Evans Reese. All except Christian Daly, who appeared in Man of La Mancha, are making their Cygnet Theatre debut.

Performances for Shakespeare's R&J run through June 16, 2013 at the Old Town Theatre. Show times are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 619-337-1525, online at www.CygnetTheatre.com or by visiting the Box Office at 4040 Twiggs St. Discounts are available for students, active-duty military, seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Photo Credit: Paul Savage

Christian Daly (top), Tyler Lea, Dave Thomas Brown, John Evans Reese

Christian Daly, Tyler Lea

John Evans Reese, Tyler Lea, Dave Thomas Brown, Christian Daly

Christian Daly, Tyler Lea

Dave Thomas Brown, John Evans Reese, Christian Daly, Tyler Lea

Christian Daly (top), Tyler Lea, Dave Thomas Brown, John Evans Reese

John Evans Reese, Dave Thomas Brown

Dave Thomas Brown, Christian Daly, Tyler Lea, John Evans Reese

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