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Border War

Rob Kramer’s Romeo and Juliet is soaked in suds

A A A Comments By Drew Bixby Thursday, Mar 26 2009

After 400-plus years of adaptations and reinterpretations, Romeo and Juliet remains a compelling stage (and screen) production, not because the story is that goddamn good left alone, but because of the creative directorial liberties and contextual revisions that keep it contemporary – as a gay teenage awakening, for example, instead of a pre-pubescent hetero crush, or ending with a hypodermic needle instead of a suicide potion.

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For his production of Shakespeare’s tragic romance, director Rob Kramer has set the story on the current California/Mexico border, within the context of competing beer dynasties: The Anglo Capulets own a multi-national beer distributorship (think Budweiser), and the Latino Montagues own and operate a successful microbrewery. Our star-crossed lovers are now of college age; small portions of the text have been translated to Spanish for maximum authenticity; and weapons run the gamut from scarves (Mercutio cops it from a one-night stand) to butterfly knives (Tybalt, now a woman, has a fetish for marking faces) to cases of beer (the ultimate bludgeoning tool!).

“I think that what we’ve tried to do is create these characters into our world so that their stories are ones that we would understand,” explains Kramer. “I want people to come and feel like they’ve seen Romeo and Juliet and they get the familiar things they want from it – the language they remember, the story they remember – but they’re seeing it in a completely new light that makes it like a new play.”

Romeo and Juliet opens tonight and plays weekends through May 3 at Vintage Theatre, 2119 East 17th Avenue. Tickets are $17 in advance and $22 at the door; get yours (or more information) at www.vintagetheatre.com or by calling 303-839-1361.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m.; Sat., April 11, 7:30 p.m. Starts: April 3. Continues through May 3, 2009

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