Writer/director Patrick Schmitz (best-known for Rudolph the Pissed-Off Reindeer) has a new project for the summer. It’s a comic take on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Schmitz is a very witty guy, which should be reason enough to look forward to the show. The cast assembled for the show is really promising as well. Title characters are played by actual teenagers with real comedic talent. As seen in various comic projects with First Stage and Schmitz, Emilie Lozier has some very clever comic instincts. Joey Flegel-Mishlove has also had quite a bit of stage experience in a comedy capacity including work in improv. The two very young actors are joined by a very impressive cast of comic actors including Robby McGhee, Beth Lewinski, James Boland, Vince Figueroa, Lee Rowley and more. If you wanted to assemble a really solid Shakespearean comedy ensemble cast and had no limitations at all, you might come up with a cast that looks A LOT like this.
The show is scheduled to run at the Next Act Theatre Aug. 21-23. It is, however, an indie production that needs funding. The goal is to raise $1,000. As of this writing, the fundraising campaign is already 1/3 of the way there. For more information on how you can help out, visit the production’s Indiegogo site.
