1st Stage to Produce "Shakespeare's R&J"

May 23, 2009 - PRLog -- McLean, Va. – “Shakespeare’s R&J”, Joe Calarco’s contemporary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, will be the fifth production in the inaugural season of 1st Stage, Fairfax County’s first professional theatre.  The show will open June 13 and run through July 12.
         Called “electrifying,” “magical,” “inspired,” and “dreamlike,” this new adaptation spins the tale of “star-crossed lovers” into a thousand discoveries for both actors and audience.  The power of Shakespeare’s text is unleashed as four prep school boys take on all roles and reveal aspects of Shakespeare’s characters hidden before now.  
         London’s Independent called Shakespeare’s R&J “a bracing and brilliant shock to the system … the biggest Shakespearean—and non-Shakespearean—thrill … in some time.”
         Shakespeare’s R&J won the 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement in Theatre. The show’s premiere was at the John Houseman Theatre in New York.
         1st Stage, located near Leesburg Pike and the Dulles Toll Road in Tysons Corner, is home to a non-profit theatre school and 100-seat performance space.  Its primary mission is to provide a "first stage" for young actors and designers beginning professional careers in theatre.  Its production of "Shakespeare's R&J" features three actors making their professional debuts:  Alex Mandell, a junior at Boston University, Jonathan Elliot, a junior at University of Virginia, and Aeneas Hemphill, a sophomore at Kenyon College.  They are joined in the cast by Jacob Yeh.
         Shakespeare’s R&J will be the final production in 1st Stage’s maiden season.  The theatre opened in September with “The Suicide”, a Russian comedy which won strong reviews, as did its subsequent productions, “The Violet Hour”, a tragicomic mind-bender; “Pig Farm”, a darkly comedic take on government interference; and “Red Herring”, a love story inside a spy story wrapped in a murder.
         The theatre chose to locate in Tyson’s Corner because of its expected emergence as an urban center.  Its mission statement says 1st Stage “will work to create a strong cultural institution that complements the economic strengths of the community”.  One of the 1st Stage’s key goals is to become a resource that “connects the county and community to fresh, imaginative interpretations of classic and contemporary theatre work.”

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About 1st Stage: This non-profit theatre and school is the home to emerging professional talent. It's located in Tysons Corner, Virginia, a fast-growing part of Northern Virginia, immediately adjacent to the Washington Beltway and Dulles Toll Road. Come visit us at www.1ststagespringhill.org.