Romeo & Juliet: CSC announce more casting

Classic Stage Company have announced that Academy Award winner William Hurt ("Kiss of the Spider Woman"), Emmy Award nominee T.R. Knight ("Grey's Anatomy") and Tony Award nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega ('Anna in the Tropics') will join the previously announced Elizabeth Olsen in their new production of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, directed by Tea Alagi.

Finn Wittrock, previously reported to co-star as 'Romeo,' has withdrawn from the production due to a film offer.

A new 'Romeo' and additional casting and creative team will be announced shortly.

The play will open at the Classic Stage Company on 16 Oct 2013, following previews from 27 Sep 2013, and play through to 03 Nov 2013.

Romeo & Juliet: Despite a long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets when Romeo, only son of the Montagues, meets Juliet, the Capulets' only daughter, he falls in love with her and she with him.

Romeo & Juliet continues CSC's ongoing exploration of the works of William Shakespeare which has included productions of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' with Bebe Neuwirth and Taylor Mac, 'The Tempest' with Mandy Patinkin and 'Hamlet' with Michael Cumpsty (for which he received an Obie Award for his performance).

Bios:

Elizabeth Olsen (Juliet) received a Gotham Award, Critics Choice, and Independent Spirit Award nomination for Lead Actress for her performance in "Martha Marcy May Marlene" from Fox Searchlight. Other films include "Liberal Arts," "Red Lights," "Silent House," "Kill Your Darlings," "Very Good Girls," and "Therese" (also starring Jessica Lange), and in Spike Lee's "Old Boy" (co-starring Josh Brolin), to be released this fall. She will also co-star in the upcoming "Godzilla," to be released next spring.

William Hurt (Friar Laurence) received a Tony Award nomination for David Rabe's 'Hurlyburly.' His other theater credits include Artists Repertory Theatre productions of The Drawer Boy, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and No Man's Land. Hurt won the Academy Award as Best Actor for "Kiss of the Spider Woman" and was also nominated for "Children of a Lesser God," "Broadcast News" and "A History of Violence." He was nominated for Emmy Awards for his performances in HBO's "Too Big To Fail" and "Damages" on FX opposite Glenn Close.

T.R. Knight (Mercutio) as apeared on Broadway in 'A Life In The Theatre,' 'Tartuffe' and 'Noises Off.' Off-Broadway: 'Sold,' 'The Marriage of Bette and Boo,' 'Scattergood' and 'Marvin's Room.' On television, he received an Emmy Award nomination for his role as "George O'Malley" on the ABC series "Grey's Anatomy." Other television work includes "The Good Wife" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unity."

Daphne Rubin-Vega (Nurse) is a two-time Tony Award d nominee (1996/2004) and recipient of Obie Awards. She riginated the roles of 'Mimi' in 'Rent' and 'Conchita' in 'Anna in the Tropics,' both Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway shows for which she was nominated for Tony Awards.