Casting Completed for Shakespeare on the Sound's R&J

Stew and Joanna Settle

Shakespeare on the Sound, Connecticut’s premier outdoor summer theater company, will present a newly conceived production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, under the direction of Joanna Settle, this June and July for the company’s 17th season. 

Romeo and Juliet will feature Ali Ahn (Juliet), David Cale (Friar), Matt Citron (Mercutio), Will Cohn (Benvolio), William Jackson Harper (Romeo), Rachael Holmes (Lady Capulet/Tybalt), Damian Lemar Hudson (Singer/Paris), Chinasa Ogbuagu (Nurse),and Tony Torn (Capulet).  Shakespeare on the Sound presents an annual production in two beautiful waterfront parks in the towns of Greenwich and Rowayton, and admission is always free of charge.

This year’s production of Romeo and Juliet is conceived as a dinner party among eight friends who have an annual tradition of reading a Shakespeare play on a gorgeous summer’s night.  Over the course of reading the play, the story will take over and guests both on-stage and off will find themselves completely consumed by the momentum and poetry of the events in Shakespeare's great love story.

As previously announced, Stew and Heidi Rodewald will again return to Shakespeare on the Sound to create all-new music and songs for this production.  Lyrics will be provided by both Shakespeare and Stew.  In addition, this year’s production will kick off with a specially commissioned scene for the show’s dinner party which Stew will write and develop in rehearsal with the show’s acting company.  Also, in a first for Shakespeare on the Sound, the production will premiere in Greenwich and then make its move to Rowayton, playing two locations on Long Island Sound: Baldwin Park in Greenwich (June 26 – July 8, 2012) and Pinkney Park in Rowayton (July 18 – July 29, 2012).

Set Design is by Laura Jellinek, Costume Design is by Tilly Grimes, Lighting Design is by Keith Parham, Sound System Design is by Jessica Paz, Sound Design is by Obadiah Eaves, and Choreography is by David Neumann.

Now in its 17th season, Shakespeare on the Sound has established itself as one of the most popular summer theater companies on the East Coast, drawing large audiences to each performance in the unique under-the-stars settings of its waterfront venues – Pickney Park in Rowayton and Roger Sherman Baldwin Park in Greenwich. 

For more information on Shakespeare on the Sound, visit www.shakespeareonthesound.org.