Jeff Buckley Musical The Last Goodbye Premieres at Williamstown Aug. 5

By Adam Hetrick
05 Aug 2010

Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley

The songs of late singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley come to life in The Last Goodbye, a new stage musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which begins its world-premiere engagement Aug. 5 at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Michael Kimmel has adapted the work that takes a contemporary look at Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers. He also directs The Last Goodbye, which runs through Aug. 20 in Williamstown, MA.

The cast features Nick Blaemire (Cry-Baby, Glory Days), Kelli Barrett (The Royal Family), Celina Carvajal (The Toxic Avenger), Merle Dandridge (Spamalot), Michael Park ("As the World Turns," The Burnt Part Boys), Daunno (The Last Goodbye), Tom Hennes (Freedom Train), Max Jenkins (Hair), Jo Lampert (The Daughters), Jesse Lenat (Once Around the Sun), Deb Lyons (Smokey Joe's Café), Grace McLean (Twelfth Night), Ashley Robinson (Giant) and Chloe Webb ("Tales from the City").

According to Williamstown, "A legendary love. A transcendent artist. Shakespeare’s classic verse meets the driving, passionate rock of iconic singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley in the world premiere of The Last Goodbye... An ensemble of fourteen singer/actors bring to life the lyrical beauty of two great poets set in a world of youthful angst, grandeur, and grit. Fall for Romeo and Juliet all over again in this incendiary new musical."

The Last Goodbye has choreography by Sonya Tayeh and arrangements by Kris Kukul. The WTF production has scenic design by Michael Brown, costume design by Anne Kennedy, lighting design by Ben Stanton and sound design by Ken Travis. The production stage manager is David H. Lurie.

Known for his wailing, emotional performnaces, Buckley gained national attention for his woeful cover of the Leonard Cohen song "Hallelujah." He recorded only one studio album, "Grace," which was critically acclaimed. His untimely death at the age of 30 in 1997, inspired numerous artists to pen songs inspired by the loss of such a promising musician. Since his death, demo recordings, live concert recordings and portions of his unfinished album "My Sweetheart the Drunk" have been released.

Visit WilliamstownTheatreFestival.