2013 New Stages tour of 'Romeo & Juliet' launches today

Each year, Asolo Repertory Theatre presents a New Stages tour that brings a Shakespearean performance to schools and community organizations across Florida. Today marks the start of “Romeo and Juliet.” You can see the tale of star-crossed lovers at the public performance to launch the tour at 6 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3. Tickets are $25. Call 351-8000 or visit here for more information.

This is a contemporary version adapted by Lauryn E. Sasso (Resident Dramaturg) and Dmitry Troyanovsky (Director). It will introduce the story as if the characters are normal teens of 2013 and condenses the standard 130-minute running time to 45-minutes with a post-show discussion following each performance.

The post-play discussion invites the audience to connect with the play through asking questions. These can be related to the literature and the characters but can also be fun. Last year, one audience member at the opening performance asked if it’s really bad luck to say “Macbeth” in the theater, to which the actors confirmed the old wives’ tale remains true. They had a pandemic of sickness, broken toes, bangs and bruises all within the first 48-hours of rehearsing.

Opening night allows audience members to witness first hand how the program can give students the chance to experience live theater. They will be able to see that this version presents a more tangible and approachable version of the literature most high school students read in class.

The New Stages production will be performed for the next two months around Florida to mostly to high-school audiences, in addition to a few audiences that are middle school-aged and senior citizen-aged. FSU/Asolo Conservatory third-year students who are also acting as company members of Asolo Repertory Theatre make up the two touring casts, Team Montague and Team Capulet.

Last year’s production of “Macbeth” reached more than 18,000 people at 45 different venues throughout Florida. The year prior was “Hamlet Redux,” which reached 12,000. This year Asolo Repertory Theatre staff aim to reach more audience members than ever before.