Romeo And Juliet

Jason Lilly knows that his friends in the Junior ROTC will be watching tonight when he wears his pink tights in Dundalk High School's production of "Romeo and Juliet." And he doesn't mind."I'm their senior chief -- the commander of the unit -- so I'm never going to hear the end of it," says Jason, 16, a senior who will portray Capulet in his Dundalk High acting debut. "But this is Shakespeare, and I love Shakespeare. To get a chance to act in Shakespeare, I don't care what I have to wear."

These days, when director Irene Lewis talks to actor Robert Dorfman, she's really talking to five people.And they are five very different people -- different occupations, different social classes, even different genders.What ties them together is that they are characters in Lewis' production of "Romeo and Juliet" -- which opens Wednesday at Center Stage -- and that they share a purpose the director describes as "choral witness."This idea came about because Lewis was intrigued by the play's opening speech, in which the classically inspired character of the Chorus gives away the plot, right down to the crux of the matter: "A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their lives."

Essex students star in `Romeo and Juliet' Cockpit in Court, the summer theater in residence at the Essex campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, opens its 2001 season tonight with "Romeo and Juliet." Directed by Michael McNulty in the outdoor Courtyard Theatre, the Shakespearean tragedy stars CCBC Essex students Johnathan Todd and Hannah Castro as the star-crossed lovers. Here's the rest of the Cockpit season: "Fiddler on the Roof" (June 14-24, Mainstage), "Ain't Misbehavin' " (June 21-July 1, Upstairs Cabaret)

Newcomers and veterans star in a new `Romeo and Juliet' Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's tragic masterpiece about thwarted love, opens Sunday at Washington's Shakespeare Theatre. The production is staged by Rachel Kavanaugh, a young British director with a reputation for focusing on Shakespeare's language. Shakespeare Theatre newcomers Paul Whitthorne and Jennifer Ikeda head a cast that also includes such long-time company members as Emery Battis, Edward Gero, Floyd King and David Sabin.

"Romeo and Juliet," by William Shakespeare. Abrams. 32 pages. $18.95. I'm not exactly sure who the target audience might be, but Abrams has published a very attractive retelling of Romeo and Juliet ($18.95), with some stunning illustrations by Margaret Early, done in the manner of the Book of Hours, complete with gorgeous decorative borders.People who are serious about the story probably want Shakespeare, while a young person enraptured by the Leonardo DiCaprio version won't really appreciate the quality of the art. At any rate, Abrams is to be congratulated for commissioning Early, whose work makes this a book to treasure.

The theater calendar in Friday's Maryland Live and Sunday's Arts & Entertainment sections of The Sun incorrectly listed a performance at the Gordon Center for Performing Arts. Starting Aug. 26, it will show "Romeo and Juliet."For details on performance times and tickets, call (410) 356-7469.The Sun regrets the error.

Shakespeare outdoors Romeo and Juliet will be portrayed as a pair of nonconformist teens, vexed by their conservative peer group, in Mobtown Players' al fresco production of the Shakespearean tragedy, opening tomorrow in Patterson Park. The company's third annual show in the park is directed by Ryan Whinnem and stars Noah Mazaika, a senior at Towson University, and Courtney Ryan, a junior at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland. The production also features an original electronic score composed and performed by Carlos Guillen.

If the plays of William Shakespeare are timeless commentaries on the human condition, then the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, entering its second season this week, will likely be around for a long time.Kelley Dunn, the festival's artistic director, uses this year's production -- "Romeo and Juliet," opening Wednesday, July 26, at Loyola College's McManus Theater -- as an example of how Shakespeare can make us care about both a particular plot and the larger thematic implications."In 'Romeo and Juliet,' on the surface it's clearly about a civil dispute, and at the end the kids from each family die and the families reconcile," she says.

A fully staged three-act ballet of Serge Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," danced by the Ballet de l'Opera de Bordeaux, will be presented at 7: 30 p.m. Wednesday in the Naval Academy's Distinguished Artists Series, at midpoint in its season. Sometimes described as the greatest ballet score ever written, Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" should find the consummate interpretation by this pre-eminent dance company. With recurring opera-like motifs to suggest each character's emotions, the score was originally criticized for not conveying love.

It's a big weekend for two organizations devoted to bringing more people into the local theater community. Performance Workshop Theatre, a nonprofit company and theater arts training school, just moved from its Federal Hill location to new digs in Hamilton. The first production there, devoted to stories written by great playwrights, opens Friday. Artists' Initiative, which aims to provide opportunities for young directors and designers, as well as actors, debuts Friday with an updated staging of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in Olney.