“A joyous celebration of theatre.” – Daily Express

Adapted for the stage by Lee Hall

Based on the screenplay by Marc Norman & Tom Stoppard

 

Directed by Lisa Formosa-Parmigiano, Artistic & Education Director

Assisted by Avery Thompson

 

No Callbacks needed — all casting calls will be made tomorrow by 4pm.

 

What a fun and exciting way to spend time this summer!  Many roles available — we are open to gender-blind casting.  This adaptation includes musical interludes with the opportunity for singing, dancing, and playing an instrument.  Join us as we mount our final performance in Central Park Plaza.

 

Penniless and indebted to two demanding producers, struggling young playwright William Shakespeare is tormented by writers block, until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesspes, daughter of a wealthy merchant, whose fiery passion for poetry and drama leaves her secretly longing to be an actor.  Viola quickly becomes the playwright’s muse, while she disguises herself as a man to become a player.  Both are despondent with they learn that Viola’s father has promised her to the stuffy Lord Wessex in order to gain a title for their family.  Under veil of secrecy, Will and Viola’s passionate love affair becomes the basis of the very play he is writing — Romeo and Juliet.  With opening night — and the wedding day — fast approaching, the plots race toward a parallel conclusion.  Will it all work out in the end or are the two star-crossed lovers destined for tragedy?

 

Dramatic Comedy / 6 ‘Females’, 18 ‘Males’

 

Playwrights

Will Shakespeare: A passionate poet and playwright who alternates between anxiously brooding over his writer’s block and boasting all the cocky confidence and charm expected from one of Elizabethan England’s most renowned dramatists.  A friend to, and playful competitor of, Kit Marlowe, Will is a sensitive soul searching for a muse — which he finds, both theatrically and romantically, in the equally fervent Viola.

 

Kit Marlowe: Will’s more successful theatrical cohort, never suffers from the writer’s block that plagues his pal — he always knows exactly what Will should write or say next.  Smooth and charming, Kit is perpetually good-humored and encouraging — the best kind of friend(ly competitor).

 

The De Lesseps House

Viola De Lesseps: A noblewoman who fiercely dreams of becoming an actor, she disguises herself as Thomas Kent in order to perform, illegally, in Shakespeare’s latest play.  Engaged to Lord Wessex, a man she hardly knows or cares for, and restricted by a society that bases her worth solely on her marriage prospects, she escapes to the stage, where she thrives in reciting the playwright’s poetry and subsequently falls in love with Will.  Rebellious and passionate, Sheakespeare’s verse should roll off this devotees tongue, and she should embody a sense of playfulness and determination in her attempts to play a man.

 

Nurse: A devoted servant to Viola, helping her Lady with kindness and humor, to dress as an actor and avoid the priggish Lord Wessex.

 

Sir Robert De Lesseps: Viola’s father; thinks of his daughter only as a piece of property to be given away to the odious Lord Wessex.

 

Lord Wessex: An insufferable and cash-poor nobleman engaged to Viola, is smarmy with the Queen, but hateful to nearly everyone else.  A shameless misogynist, Wessex desires Viola only for her father’s wealth.

 

The Rose Theatre

Henslowe: Owner and manager of the Rose Theatre, which will host Shakespeare’s newest comedy.  He must continually hound the ever-pondering playwright for the play.  A slippery equivocator, his increasing debts and frustrations are ripe fodder for a comedic actor.

 

Fennyman: Producer of plays — aka “the money.”  A ruthless loan shark with no sense of humor (to Henslowe’s great dismay), he cuts an imperious and intimidating figure.  However, his enthusiasm — and resulting stage fright — at playing the supporting role of the Apothecary in Romeo & Juliet endears him to his fellow players and audiences alike.

 

Lambert and Frees: Fennyman’s accomplices and henchmen

Ralph: An actor who plays Nurse and Petruchio

Nol: An actor who plays Benvolio and Samson

Robin: An actor who plays Lady Capulet

Adam: An actor who plays Gregory, Benvolio, and Servingman

John Webster: A street urchin who aspires to be an actor

Wabash: A stammering actor and Henslowe’s tailor

 

The Admiral’s Men

Ned Alleyn: The lead actor of the Admiral’s Men, plays Mercutio.  Self-absorbed and a bit reckless, this pompous actor agrees to take the role only when he thinks the play’s title is Mercutio.

Sam: An actor who plays Juliet

Peter: An actor who plays Tybalt

 

The Chamberlain’s Men

Burbage: The lead actor of the Chamberlain’s Men, a rival troupe of the Admiral’s Men and owner of the Curtain Theatre.  He becomes enraged and instigates a sword fight with Will when he discovers the playwright gave Romeo & Juliet to the Admiral’s Men.

 

The Palace

Queen Elizabeth I: England’s shrewd monarch who loves the theatre but demands comedies that incorporate dogs.  She sternly commands her courtiers and playwrights alike.  A daunting presence, she delivers her proclamations drolly and fairly.

 

Mistress Quickly: Wardrobe mistress at Whitehall Palace

 

Edmund Tilney: The Lord Chamberlain and obsequious courtier to Queen Elizabeth, manages court entertainment.  Strict and exacting in his position, he is deferential to the Queen and censorious to Will and his plays.