‘Romeo and Juliet’ to be performed with a Bloomington twist

One of Shakespeare’s best known plays, “Romeo and Juliet” will be modernized tonight and given a Bloomington spin.\nRussell McGee and the Monroe County Civil Theatre will premiere the play at 7 p.m. Friday in Bloomington’s Third Street Park.\nThe ensemble cast includes many members from the Monroe County area, including students from both Bloomington North and South high schools, IU’s theater department and other local performers.\n“It’s really cool, because the whole community is involved,” said IU senior Erin Sullivan , who will be playing the role of the Nurse. “Middle-school kids to older citizens and just everybody is involved.”\nBut this isn’t everyday Shakespeare. McGee brings a modern twist to the play by showcasing the rivalry between the Bloomington North and South football teams. The Capulet family will don the football jerseys of Bloomington South, while the Montagues will represent Bloomington North in their football jerseys.\nThe decision to use the two Bloomington football teams seemed natural, because rivalry is a major theme of the original Shakespearean text, McGee said. \n“I just took what was there and used a concept based on that,” McGee said. “Since Bloomington North and South already have that rivalry, it’s something I knew a modern audience here would be able to relate to.”\nMcGee also hopes the football element will bring in a larger crowd that might not normally attend theater events, but would be attracted to a weekend football game. \nThe modern twist makes the play more fun and easy to understand, Sullivan said. She also said that it’s ironic and downright funny that trained actors will be playing football in a production.\n“Many people are more familiar with the Leonardo DiCaprio version (of “Romeo and Juliet”) and stuff, which is fun,” Sullivan said. “But this hits home.” \nOther modern touches to the play include a homecoming dance for Bloomington South, as opposed to the masked ball originally in the script. Modern music will also underscore the actions of the performers. With the help of a sound designer, songs from Evanescence and Avril Lavigne, among others, were chosen for the production. \nThe recent song “Innocence” by Lavigne will be the theme song for Romeo and Juliet, McGee said. \nAnother twist: The cast will not be performing on the Third Street Park stage, but rather on the grassy round of the park, so viewers can watch the play from all angles. The staging is something new and completely different, McGee said. He SAID he hopes it will draw the audience in as the play progresses. \nCast and crew members say spirits are high before opening night. \n“There’s always this tension and nervousness as it approaches,” says Bloomington South senior Ana Delong, who plays Juliet. “But I’m excited for the show – I’ve been telling everybody to come.”\nMcGee is excited about the entire process. \n“I think they’ve done their work. I’ve done my work,” he said, referring to the actors. “There’s always going to be people who like it or dislike it, there’s not anything I can do about that, but I think we’ve done the best work that we can and I’m proud of what we’ve done.”\n“Romeo and Juliet,” will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sept. 21 and 22 in the Third Street Park. The show is free but donations are accepted.