Romeo and Juliet, Scored by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, to Star Ali Ahn and William Jackson Harper

By Adam Hetrick
10 May 2012

Heidi Rodewald and Stew
Heidi Rodewald and Stew
Photo by Aubrey Reuben

Ali Ahn and William Jackson Harper will share star-crossed nights in the Shakespeare on the Sound outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet, beginning June 26 in Greenwich, CT.

Artistic director Joanna Settle will stage the free production that will run June 26-July 8 in Greenwich, CT's Baldwin Park, and in Pinkney Park from July 18-July 29 in Rowayton, CT.

"We are conceiving Romeo and Juliet as a dinner party among eight friends who have an annual tradition of reading a Shakespeare play on a gorgeous summer’s night," Settle said in a statement. "Over the course of reading the play, the story will take over and our guests both on-stage and off will find themselves completely consumed over by the momentum and poetry of the events in Shakespeare's classic romance."

Joining Ahn as Juliet and Harper as Romeo, are David Cale (Friar), Matt Citron (Mercutio), Will Cohn (Benvolio), Rachael Holmes (Lady Capulet/Tybalt), Damian Lemar Hudson (Singer/Paris), Chinasa Ogbuagu (Nurse) and Tony Torn (Capulet).

As previously reported, Passing Strange Tony winner Stew and collaborator Heidi Rodewald will pen music and lyrics for Romeo and Juliet. Stew has also been commissioned to author two new scenes for the dinner party, which he will write and develop with the cast. The team previously worked on the Shakespeare on the Sound productions of Othello and As You Like It. Stew created the music for A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The production will have set design by Andrew Lieberman, costume design by Tilly Grimes, lighting design by Keith Parham, sound system design by Jessica Paz, sound design by Obadiah Eaves and choreography by David Neumann.

For further information, visit ShakespeareontheSound.