By Gia Hale
Shakespeare has been done before, but never like this. San
Benito County children as young as 5 tackle the literary legend
this weekend in the Gavilan College Summer Theater Arts Repertory
production of
”
Romeo and Juliet.
”
Shakespeare has been done before, but never like this. San Benito County children as young as 5 tackle the literary legend this weekend in the Gavilan College Summer Theater Arts Repertory production of “Romeo and Juliet.”
The children’s theater program, which traditionally puts on classic American musicals at Gav, is doing Shakespeare for the second year in a row after last year’s success with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“How many times does Shakespeare get done in this area and how many times does Shakespeare get done with kids this age?” said Director Javier Hurtado about the unique opportunity to do the show. “We have kids from 5 years old to 16 years old doing Shakespeare, so I think it’s a really special thing for this area to have.”
The play features a cast of 24 students and is set in the 1950s with a soundtrack of music from the decade. The show also features various dance numbers and live musical performances of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” and “Going to the Chapel” by STAR veteran Katie Hipol, who plays the nurse.
“I think it’s going to be a really good play,” said Beth Bonnad, 15, who plays title character Juliet. “Everybody was really enthusiastic about it and everyone wants to make it good.”
Bonnad said being a lead in the play was fun because “All the little girls want to hold your hand and it’s really cute.”
Hurtado, who is finishing his eighth and final summer with STAR, said working with the children was a rewarding experience.
“Just seeing that look of confidence on their faces,” he said. “They’d come back from home after memorizing their lines all night to do this big speech or monologue that they didn’t think they could do, and they’d jump on stage just a couple days later and they’d nail it and they’d know they nailed it.”
Other than the change in setting and some editing to shorten the running time of the show, Shakespeare’s original language is maintained and performed impressively by the youngsters.
Kali Smiley, 9, knows something about the challenge of memorizing Shakespeare. She was in last year’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and plays a watchman and citizen in this year’s show.
“It’s really fun,” she said. “It’s tricky, but it’s cool.”
The show’s 11-year-old Romeo, Vincent Czeropski, agreed.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s tiring and very hard to learn all your parts, but it’s really rewarding in the end.”
The show is open to the public and is playing this weekend only at the El Teatro Campesino playhouse in San Juan Bautista. There are two showings, at 7:30pm today and Saturday. Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors, and $8 for children younger than 12. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online at www.ticketguys.com.
