Cast and Creatives Announced For ROMEO AND JULIET at The Old Globe

As The Old Globe's 2019 Summer Shakespeare Festival continues, the theatre today announced the cast and creative team of the love-filled tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The Globe's Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein returns to direct the greatest love story of all time, after helming a smash-hit production of Othello and a sales-record-breaking production of Hamlet. Performances will run August 11 - September 15 outdoors under the stars in the Globe's Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Tickets start at $30.00 and are on sale to the general public now. Previews run August 11-16, with opening night on Saturday, August 17, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow
That I shall say good night till it be morrow."

Verona's Montague and Capulet families have been feuding for ages, and whenever they meet, violence breaks out. But when Romeo glimpses Juliet across a crowded dance floor, something different happens. Can star-crossed love survive in a world of rivalry and rage? With a plot featuring a masqued ball, sleeping potions, and all-out brawling in the street, wrapped in a text full of soaring poetry, it's no wonder Romeo and Juliet has inspired countless adaptations, from ballets to movies to musicals like West Side Story. Young love has never been as dangerous or delightful as it is in Shakespeare's romantic masterpiece, brought to vivid life on our outdoor stage under the stars. Edelstein, one of America's leading Shakespeareans, recently created a unique version of The Tempest, combining Shakespeare, dance, and classical music, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, and oversaw the Globe's inaugural Classical Directing Fellowship program.

"What a gift it is to direct one of the great masterpieces in world literature, and what an extra joy to do so on our Festival Theatre stage, one of the most beautiful Shakespeare venues in this country," said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "Romeo and Juliet contains multitudes. It's a work of sublime and uplifting romance, and also a warning about how hatreds held fast by one generation can cause terrible destruction to the next. It is a justly famous play that truly has in it everything we love about Shakespeare. As always, the Globe has attracted an extraordinarily talented cast and design team, and I am so looking forward to sharing their work with San Diego audiences."

The cast includes lauded actors from Broadway, Off Broadway, film, and television, including Aaron Clifton Moten as Romeo (The Flick, "neXT," "Disjointed," The Night Of, "Mozart in the Jungle") and Louisa Jacobson as Juliet (Native Son, The Member of the Wedding); Candy Buckley as Nurse (Globe's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Broadway's Cabaret, Thoroughly Modern Millie, After the Fall, Ring Round the Moon, Scandalous), Ben Chase as Mercutio (Mondo Tragic, Untamed, Anna Christie, Liberté: A Call to Spy, "Transparent"), Sofia Jean Gomez as Lady Capulet (Craig Noel Award for A Doll's House, Part 2 at San Diego Rep, Lucille Lortel Award for Angels in America, Parts I and II), Jesse J. Perez as Friar Laurence (Party People, The Father, A Doll's House, Informed Consent), and Cornell Womack as Lord Capulet (Globe's As You Like It, Hamlet, The Winter's Tale; The Tempest with LA Philharmonic; Broadway's On Golden Pond, Talk Radio). The cast includes students in The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program: Carlos Angel-Barajas as Prince, Summer Broyhill as Lady Montague, Ramon Burris as Balthasar, Mason Conrad as Paris, Yadira Correa as Tybalt, Aubrey Deeker Hernandez as Lord Montague, Eric Hagen as Apothecary, Bibi Mama as Abram, Hallie Peterson as Capulet Servant, Jersten Seraile as Friar John, Morgan Taylor as Benvolio, Wenona Truong as Peter, Jared Van Heel as Sampson, and Marco Antonio Vega as Gregory.

The multiple-award-winning creative team includes Takeshi Kata (Scenic Design; Globe's The Imaginary Invalid, Welcome to Arroyo's; Man from Nebraska, The Profane), Judith Dolan (Costume Design; Tony Award for Candide, Lucille Lortel Award for The Petrified Prince, Parade, Lovemusik; Night and Dreams, The Tempest with LA Philharmonic), Stephen Strawbridge (Lighting Design; Globe's As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, King Richard II, Double Indemnity, Othello, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, international productions), Sten Severson (Sound Design; Globe's As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, King Richard II, Love's Labor's Lost, more; Broadway's Hair, The Motherf***er with the Hat, The Merchant of Venice), Mark Bennett (Original Music and Music Director; Globe's Twelfth Night, Golda's Balcony, Arms and the Man, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Pygmalion; Broadway's Junk, Driving Miss Daisy, Drama Desk Award for The Coast of Utopia), Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum (Fight Director), Justin Gray (Pianist and Conductor), David Huber (Voice and Text Coach), Alaine Alldaffer, CSA (Casting), and Joshua Pilote (Production Stage Manager).

SINGLE TICKETS to Romeo and Juliet start at $30.00, on sale now, and can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE [234-5623], or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more.

PERFORMANCES begin on August 11 and continue through September 15, 2019 in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Performance times: Previews: Sunday, August 11 at 8:00 p.m.; Tuesday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m.; Wednesday, August 14 at 8:00 p.m.; Thursday, August 15 at 8:00 p.m.; and Friday, August 16 at 8:00 p.m. Opening night is Saturday, August 17 at 8:00 p.m. Regular performances: (August 20-31): Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 8:00 p.m.; (September 1-15): Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m.; Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m.

The 2019 Summer Shakespeare Festival began with the Bard's fabulously charming romantic comedy As You Like It, directed by Globe favorite Jessica Stone, running June 16 - July 21, outdoors under the stars in the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. Indoors, the 2019 Summer Season overflows with music, adventure, and laughter, starting with the award-winning PigPen Theatre Co., which delighted Globe audiences in 2017 with The Old Man and The Old Moon. This talented ensemble returns July 6 - August 11 with a world premiere musical The Tale of Despereaux. Based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo and the Universal Pictures animated film, with book, music, and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co., this inspiring family-friendly adventure is co-directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) and PigPen Theatre Co. Rounding out the summer is a sparkling comedy by the Globe's second-most popular playwright-in-residence-a guy named Steve Martin-The Underpants. Adapted from Carl Sternheim, the play was originally commissioned by Edelstein when he ran New York's Classic Stage Company, and it will play July 27 - September 1, 2019.

Don't miss the many humanities events surrounding each production designed to make theatre matter to more people-including Insights Seminars, Post-Show Forums, and Shakespeare in the Garden. Ongoing arts engagement programs throughout the year include Globe for All, AXIS, coLAB, Behind the Curtain, Bard Basics, Reflecting Shakespeare, Community Voices, Breaking Bread, Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio, and Behind-the-Scenes Tours. Pioneering programs include Free Student Matinees, Sensory-Friendly Performances, School in the Park, and The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program.

LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. Through a special arrangement with the San Diego Zoo, Old Globe evening ticket-holders have the opportunity to pre-purchase valet parking in the Zoo's employee parking structure. With a drop-off point just a short walk to the Globe, theatregoers may purchase fast, easy, convenient valet parking for just $14 per vehicle per evening. Pre-paid only, available only by phone through The Old Globe Box Office. Call (619) 234-5623 or visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/valet-parking. The Balboa Park valet is also available during weekend performances, located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org.

There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. There is a 10-minute zone at The Old Globe, used only for daytime deliveries, ticket purchases, and handicapped access dropoff. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/detailed-directions.