Nature Theatre of Oklahoma's Romeo and Juliet to Make NYC Debut

By Adam Hetrick
01 Dec 2009

The Nature Theater of Oklahoma will present the New York debut of its Romeo & Juliet, a fragmented memory piece based on the classic tragedy, at The Kitchen beginning Dec. 17.

Conceived and directed by Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska, Romeo & Juliet is drawn from conversations with Nature Theater company members who called on their own incomplete and sometimes erroneous memories of Shakespeare's work. After an international tour earlier this year, the work will play a limited New York engagement through Jan. 16, 2010.

According to press notes, "With some rather surprising twists and turns, given that no one seems to remember the exact plot, the myriad versions of the story compound in an array of competing scenarios. The participants try to invent themselves out of their own narrative blind alleys. Where memory fails, a kind of necessary creativity steps in to fill the void. What we are left with is a highly personal and original series of the famous story, infused with emotion and thoughts about love, need and the complex nature of self-sacrifice."

The cast features Anne Gridley and Robert M. Johanson with Elisabeth Conner. The production is designed by Peter Nigrini.

The Nature Theater of Oklahoma's mission is to explore and push the definitions of what is theatre and what is performance. They earned acclaim for their extended Off-Broadway production of No Dice at Soho Rep in 2008 and also presented Rambo Solo at the Off-Broadway venue earlier this year.

Performances run Dec. 17-19; Dec. 22-23; Jan. 6-9, 2010; and Jan. 13-16, 2010. For tickets, priced $20, visit TheKitchen. The Kitchen is located at 512 West 19th Street in Manhattan.