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Theatre and Dance will host a live production of R & J, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, on April 12, 13, 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. and April 14 at 1:00pm in the University Theatre. Romeo and Juliet is a timeless love story of star-crossed lovers has appealed to our romantic sensibilities for generations. It still resonates with modern audiences, illustrating that we cannot help who we love. This bilingual adaptation is infused with dance and brings all the joy, laughter, passion, and tragedy of this most beloved classic to vibrant life.
Featuring faculty Kelly Herman and Kimberly Huth as directors, and Marco Carreon as choreographer, several departments on campus joined together to work on this production, including Art & Design, English, Modern Languages, and Women's Studies. In a note to the audience, Herman says that “R & J resonates across the centuries with special meaning for our times...I am struck as always by the love, hope, and innocence of these two young people.”
Production Showcase
Several departments on campus joined together to work on this production. Faculty Michele Bury and Bonnie Tanaka in Art and Design have worked with their students on the poster for the show as well as the lobby art. Faculty Kirstin Ellsworth in Art and Design have provided provocative images throughout history of Romeo and Juliet found by students in her classes. Kimberly Huth’s students from ENG 467 worked on posters and a video. Faculty Benito Gómez in the Spanish Language department helped achieve an innovative translation of the script from English to urbanized Spanish by his students Daniela Carrillo, Fidel Contreras, Jazmín Estrella, Haydee Olvera. Faculty Tahereh Aghdasifar, Jen Brandt, and their students in Women's Studies created a zine that embraces the changes in how we view this famous tragic love story through a contemporary lens.
View the student credits of our production showcase
Spanglish Romeo y Juliet
The following scenes were rewritten from Shakespeare’s original early modern English to reflect the language and culture of Southern California today. Incorporating English, Spanish, and slang, these scenes present innovative and inspiring re-envisionings of scenes from Romeo and Juliet that were always intended to utilize local, contemporary language patterns. Scenes written by students from the CSUDH Department of Modern Language, under the mentorship of Benito Gómez Madrid.
A Night with The Cast and Crew of R & J
Carerra Williams meets with the cast and crew about the production of R & J taking place in modern day Verona, CA, centering the Latinx community. In this, she discusses how mainstream media provides an underrepresentation of queer women of color and the overrepresentation of interracial relationships.
Coming Out and Family Resources
Deconstructing R & J
Zines are a creative and collaborative mainstay of the femnist movment, uplifiting the voices of women and QTPOC communities often excluded and marginalized by mainstream publishing. Inpsired by this history, CSUDH's re-telling of Romeo and Juliet, and the rich collection of zines in CSUDH's Gerth Archives, Deconstructing R & J, is a collaboration between students in Women's Studies 490: Senior Seminar and Design 470: Portfolio II courses.
Deconstructing R&J Spotify Playlist
Learn more about our student designers for the zine:
Romeo and Juliet in the U.S. Educational System
English Professor Kimberly Huth, along with her students, Melissa Saenz, Megan Miller, and Roxanna Gonzalez, present their research findings about Shakespeare being used in various school curriculums in the United States and the different perspectives from teachers in K-12 about Romeo and Juliet's role in education.