ROMEO & JULIET Go Underground at Zombie Joe's

Zombie Joe's Underground presents their fast-paced, high-impact production of Shakespeare's passionate tragedy, about two star-cross'd lovers whose untimely deaths unite their feuding families. Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8:30 pm through October 8th.

The production is adapted and directed by Denise Devin, with costume assistance by Jeri Batzdorff. An interesting note about Zombie Joe's is that they only do hour long shows, in this case, 1 hour 5 minutes to be exact.

"It's an in-your-face production," says Devin, "partially because it is in a small black box and therefore very intimate, and it's also pretty traditional. I did not put a 'spin' on it because I didn't think one was needed. It moves rapidly telling one of the greatest love, as well as anti-hate, stories of all time."

Leading the cast in the title roles are RoBert Walters and Alexis Justman, along with Wallace Bruce (Paris), Jim Cox (Capulet), Vincent Cusimano (Tybalt), Georgan George (Lady Capulet), Rafael Goldstein (Mercutio), Curtiss Johns (Benvolio), Peter Brook Morrison (Prince/Nurse), Mark Motyl (Mantague), and Nathan Dean Snyder (Friar Lawrence).

Producer Zombie Joe is an award winning producer/director/writer whose URBAN DEATH has been running successfully for the last year and a half. The company even took the show to New York where it created quite a stir. And Devin has a great track record delivering three hits in a row over the last four months. They include TARTUFFE, HAMLET, PRINCE OF DARKNESS, and the current production of ROMEO AND JULIET. She will follow R&J with THE TEMPEST, which opens Sept 9th.

Zombie Joe's is located at 4850 Lankershim Blvd, N. Hollywood, CA 91601. For reservations call 818-202-4120 or visit www.zombiejoes.com.

Photo: RoBert Walters and Alexis Justman in ROMEO AND JULIET