Shakespeare's R and J

After school, one breaks out a copy of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juiliet and they all take turns reading the play aloud. The Bard's words and the story itself are thrilling to the boys and they become swept away, enmeshed in the emotion so much so that they break school rules in order to continue their readings

The rigidity of their lives begins to parallel the lives of the characters in the play: roles in the family, roles in society and the roles played by men and women soon seem to make all the sense in the world, and then, suddenly, they seem to make no sense at all

Although they had been taking turns playing all the parts, two eventually emerge playing Romeo and Juliet exclusively, bringing a whole new dimension to the proceedings. Perceptions and understanding are turned upside down as the fun of play acting turns serious and the words and meanings begin to hit home and universal truths emerge.

Four actors with no set, no costume changes and no props bring the essence of this classic play vividly alive with the sheer theatricality of this timeless story

"Joe Calarco's new deconstruction of Romeo and Juiliet goes to show - the right hands can do nothing wrong to ShakespeareWe shall doubtless hear further from Calarco " ~ NY Post

"Calarco sets the lush, lyrical story of doomed lovers in the repressed atmosphere of a modern Catholic boarding school. The result is brave and original" ~ NY Daily News