Romeo and Juliet to close on 08 Dec 2013

The Broadway revival of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad has posted early closing notices and will play its final performance on 08 Dec 2013. When the show closes it will have played 27 previews and 93 regular performances.

Romeo and Juliet opened at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre on 19 Sep 2013, following previews from 24 Aug 2013. The show was originally playing a limited engagement through to 12 Jan 2014.

The play opened on Broadway to mixed, but mostly poor reviews: I don't know how, but this production has managed... to nearly obliterate passion (newyorktheatreguide.com); Lacks emotional fireworks. (NYDN); Doesn't make as much of an impression (NYP); More ill-matched than star crossed (Bloomberg); Flatly spoken, indifferently acted (Record).

The show has been struggling at the box office since its opening, and last week its house capacity was at only 38%.

Directed by five-time Tony Award nominee David Leveaux, Romeo and Juliet stars Orlando Bloom, in his Broadway debut, alongside Tony Award nominee Condola Rashad, as Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers.

The cast also features Jayne Houdyshell (Nurse), Brent Carver (Friar Laurence), Chuck Cooper (Lord Capulet), Christian Camargo (Mercutio), Roslyn Ruff (Lady Capulet), Justin Guarini (Paris), Conrad Kemp (Benvolio), Corey Hawkins (Tybalt) and Geoffrey Owens (Prince Escalus).

Joining the company in the ensemble are Donte Bonner, Joe Carroll, Don Guillory, Sheria Irving, Maurice Jones, Eric Loscheider, Spencer Plachy, Michael Rudko, Tracy Sallows, Thomas Schall, Carolyn Michelle Smith and Nance Williamson.

The creative team includes set design by Jesse Poleshuck, costumes by Fabio Toblini, lighting design by David Weiner and sound design by David Van Tieghe.

This version of the classic tale retains Shakespeare's original language but has a modern setting in which members of the contentious Montague and Capulet families are of differing ethnicities.

One of Shakespeare's best known plays, Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic-romances dating back over 500 years. The famous youthful lovers first appeared in Italian novella in the 1500's and gained popularity in England after being adapted and translated into English by Arthur Brooke in 1562.

Despite a long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets when Romeo (Orlando Bloom), only son of the Montagues, meets Juliet (Condola Rashad), the Capulets' only daughter, he falls in love with her and she with him.

In this new production, the members of the Montague household are white, and the blood relatives of the Capulet family are black. While race defines the family lineages, the original cause of the 'ancient quarrel', passed down by successive generations to their young, has been lost to time. Shakespeare's dramatization of the original poem sets the two young lovers in a context of prejudice, authoritarian parents, and a never ending cycle of 'revenge.' Against this background, the strength of their love changes the world.

This production marks the first time in 36 years that Romeo and Juliet has been produced for Broadway.

The last time Romeo and Juliet was produced on Broadway was the 1977 Circle in the Square production featuring Paul Ryan Rudd and Pamela Payton-Wright.