Just when you think it has been done thousands of times before, enter the latest production of Romeo and Juliet, the love tragedy of the eons. This richly designed modern take of the quintessential Shakespearian drama is a visual feast for the eyes and ears as well as emotions. The cast is spectacular. The set is superb. The Cook Theatre is transformed into a thrust imitating the historic Globe for an experience of intimate communion with the actors. The stage as well as part of the audience is used throughout the play. As the Montagues and Capulets’ blood feud mirrors today’s divided world, it explores the universal themes of sacrifice, love and the enduring power of beauty in the face of relentless hatred.
“Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
Shakespeare’s most celebrated masterpiece of love, fate, and family feuds, is given fresh life in this elegantly streamlined and stylistically modern adaptation. Capturing all the gripping emotional power of the original, audiences of this production will confront the extremity of love, interrogate the cost of loyalty, and ask if it’s possible to rewrite the story written in the stars.
The impassioned, reckless actions of the star crossed lovers and the lack of guidance in their trusted mentor, Friar Laurence, combine to form a tale of caution, warning Elizabethan audience members of what happens when faith and logic are set aside and impulse and emotion take over.
The on-stage choreography is sublime with just enough action and excitement to continuously keep the audience engaged. The choice of casting is exceptional as well, with humor, suspense and tragedy all mixed into a delicious cocktail that transcends the ages.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the partnership with Asolo Rep, the FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is a three-year graduate program culminating in a Master of Fine Arts degree. Only twelve students are chosen each year from the thousands who audition nationwide to work in a program that combines rigorous classroom training with guest artist workshops and professional production experience.
Upon graduation, all students are eligible to join Actors’ Equity Association and enter the ranks of this country’s most highly regarded professional artists. Graduates of our program have appeared on and off Broadway, in regional theatres, in feature films and on television. The program was initiated by the Florida State University School of Theatre in Tallahassee in 1968 and moved to Sarasota five years later to establish a permanent relationship with the Asolo Repertory Theatre.
