Romeo and Juliet almost here!

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Theatre33's fall production of William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" will be performed Friday and Saturday, October 21-22 at 7:00 P.M. and Sunday, October 23 at 2:00 P.M. at the West Noble High School auditeria.  Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens.  There is geneneral seating and the box office opens one hour prior to the performances. 

Shakespeare's plays look at human nature and explore difficult issues.  It is our human instinct to do the very opposite of what we are told to do.  Montagues and Capulets are sworn enemies, even though we are not sure why.  So, of course, the very thing Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet do is fall in love. Juliet's last lines at the end of Act One are, "My only love sprung from my only hate!" Even though she realizes falling in love with Romeo is wrong, she does it anyway.

Often the theme of "Romeo & Juliet" is thought to be "Impetuous Youth", implying that we are implusive in our youth.  There are many quick decisions the young people in play make; Romeo, played by junior River Denman,  falls out of love with Rosaline as quickly as he falls in love with Julliet, played by senior Madeline Powell.  After only knowing each other a few hours, Romeo & Juliet decide to get married. 

Even Tybalt, Juliet's hot tempered cousin, played by sophomore Eduardo Aranda, cannot stand being told not to do something.  Tybalt is forbade by his uncle, Lord Capulet, played by senior Raymond Stump, to seek revenge on Romeo for crashing their party. Tybalt challenges Romeo to a duel, Mercutia, played by senior Kayla Peterson, gladly jumps in to fight, and accidentally gets killed.  Romeo makes a rash decision to then seek revenge on Tybalt, and kills him.

It is not only the youth who make quick, reactionary decisions.  In the opening scene of the play the Prince, played by sophomore Skylar Denman, decrees that "if anyone disturbs the quiet of the streets, they shall pay with their lives" because he is fed up with the constant fighting between the Capulets and Montagues.  Of course, such a blanket threat is often difficult to enforce and even the Prince does not follow through with his impulsive threat.

The Friar, played by junior Duffy Coyle, decides in a flash that he should agree to marry Romeo & Juliet because he thinks it might bring an end to the fueding.  Of course it does not, and later the Friar decides to fake Juliet's death to get her out of marrying Paris, played by sophomore Chance Chester.  Lord Capulet agrrees to let his daughter marry Paris because he thinks it will cheer her up after Tybalt's death.

Shakespeare used story to help us look at life at a safe distance. We can explore the flaws in characters to help us avoid those same flaws in ourselves.  "Romeo & Juliet" forces us to look at how we treat our children, our friends, our enemies and our decisions.

Come see Theatre33's beautiful version of "Romeo & Juliet" October 21-23, 2011. Call Directors Cliff Schwartz or Amy Dreibelbis with questions 260-894-3191 or visit ihigh.com\westnoble.

Cast List:

Some actors play several roles

MONTAGUE … Josie Gibbons

ROMEO … River Denman

BENVOLIO … Marcus Henderson

BALTHASAR … Ben Powell

ABRAHAM… Nelson Luehrs

CAPULET  … Ray Stump

LADY CAPULET … Amber Driscoll

JULIET … Madeline Powell

NURSE … Ashley Smith

TYBALT … Eduardo Aranda

SAMPSON … Bryan Bechtold
GREGORIA…  Ashlyn Stump

PRINCE ESCALUS …  Skylar Denman

PARIS … Chance Chester

MERCUTIA … Kayla Peterson

FRIAR LAURENCE …  Duffy Coyle

SISTER  JOANA … Amber Wilkins

APOTHECARY … Crystal Adcox

CHORUS …

Jocy Herrera, Maria Carrillo,Tiffany Jaramillo, Ashlyn Stump, Amber Wilkins, Crystal Adcox

FIRST CITIZEN Ashlyn Stump
SERVANT  … Amber Wilkins
FIRST SERVANT … Crystal Adcox
FIRST WATCHMAN … Jocy Herrera
SECOND WATCHMAN … Maria Carrillo
THIRD WATCHMAN … Tiffany Jaramillo

PAGE to Paris … Ashlyn Stump

Theatre33

West Noble High School
Ligonier, IN

Sponsor / Co-Director: Amy Dreibelbis
Co-Director: Cliff Schwartz