William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet is easily the most widely performed play in the world! So as the creative team at the Towle Theater in Hammond prepared to do an adaptation, they approached this classic piece of theatre from a perspective close to their own work. Towle Youth Theater Ensemble pulls talented young people from all over the Chicagoland and NW Indiana area. Therefore, this adaptation matches the production process rather than presenting the entire piece. The belief is that the audience is familiar enough with the story to be able to understand and follow an abbreviated, artistically creative version of the show.
This particular telling of the story will follow the ensemble as they audition, rehearse and perform Romeo & Juliet with parts of the story laced throughout. Only 2 scenes will be exactly as they are in the original text; the romantic balcony scene and Act V which is the discovery and death ending of the show.
The dynamic cast, ranging in age from 12-18, includes Drew Adams as Romeo (Munster), Elise Bereolos as the Nurse (St. John), Aaron Capello as Paris (St. John), Lauren Florek as Lady Capulet (Munster), Julia Fugger as Lady Montague (Lansing, IL), Diego Garcia as Capulet (Hammond), Connor Khoury as the Prince (Chicago, IL), Claire LeMonnier as Juliet (Munster), Harry Ogrentz as Mercutio (Chicago, IL), Thomas Speranza as Friar Laurence (Munster), Andrew Zachary as Montague (Munster), Onteya Zachary as the Page and Sergio Zarate as Tybalt (Whiting). Additional ensemble members working on the show include; Brianna Dittmer – Costumes (Munster), Mike McCue – Lighting (Hammond) and Logan Shade – Assistant Director (Whiting).
To further illustrate the popularity of the show, Towle's production is one of three in the region in the next few months; Gary Shakespeare Company will be presenting it in May and Chicago Street Theater in June.
Show dates are Saturday, April 5 – Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 6 & 13 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are just $10. To buy tickets, call the box office at 219-937-8780 or visit www.towletheater.org. The Towle Theater is located in beautiful downtown Hammond at 5205 Hohman Avenue. Free, well-lit, secured parking is available just off Fayette Street only steps away from our alley entrance at the back of the theater.
There will also be a special benefit performance hosted by the Hammond Rotary Club for the McAuley Clinic on Thursday, April 10 with a reception of food and drinks starting at 5:30p.m. – curtain at 7:00p.m. with an extended intermission for silent auction and dessert as well as a Q&A with the cast afterward. Tickets for this private performance are $50.