Opening tonite: Romeo & Juliet at the Balagan Theatre

underneath the new Agnes Lofts at 12th and Pike and running Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun through March 22nd. Here's a blurb from their website:

The foiled comedy. The unexpected tragedy. For four centuries, people have looked at Romeo and Juliet as one of the greatest love stories of all time. Crossing generations and cultures with its ever-relevant themes of love, hate, and rifts within a society, the excellent and lamentable tragedy has resonances that can be found in texts as old as the Bhagavad Gita and the Bible. Regardless of time and place, the dualities of hate and love, dark and light, and unity and division are ever-present elements of society. Romeo and Juliet is a story of humanity, of finding love within a world of hate, and of the ability human beings have to inspire change within one another. Balagan Theatre puts the focus on that story as it tells the tale of the star-crossed lovers and the impact they make upon the hate-riddled world around them.

Go to the website for more info and to purchase tickets: http://www.balagantheatre.org/lamentable_tragedy.php

I saw their first production in their new home, Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine, back in October. It was...ok, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt since they weren't finished building out the theatre and it was a rough space. Oh, and be warned, this is a small theatre. When I was there, it seemed like it seated about 80 people, so if you're claustrophobic or have issues with actors being right in your face, this may NOT be the venue for you. I have to struggle with that myself; I don't like being able to see the actors sweat...unless it's Javier Bardem and Clive Owen. I'm not familiar with any of the cast except for the excellent Rebecca Davis, who's a regular at Re-bar's Brown Derby series of movie spoofs. I only know her for her comedic work, so I'm guessing she might be playing the Nurse, the only moderately 'funny' role in the play. I think I'm going to check this out, but not this weekend...I'll give them a week to work the kinks out.