"Romeo and Juliet" Adaptation @ Morgan-Wixson Theatre

William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet gets a new spin in the Nancy Linehan Charles adaptation The Old “You-Know-I-Really-Love-You-But-My-Father-Really-Hates-You” Blues.

Throw away everything you think you know about Shakespeare---and for that matter, about theatre. Join two raucous, irreverent storytellers, spinning the tale of Romeo and Juliet. The story’s about, well, frankly, teenagers. You know the species. They fall in love at the drop of a hat always with the very person Mom and Dad can't stand. And in the case of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, their families have hated one another for as long as anyone can remember. Except…no one actually remembers WHY. Grownups act that way sometimes, ya know? This fast-paced adaptation of Shakespeare's play tracks the star-crossed lovers and their cross-purposed families through the tumbling courtship to its tragic conclusion.

Making her directorial debut at Santa Monica’s Morgan-Wixson Theatre, director Nancy Linehan Charles, is best known for her Salty Shakespeare take-to-the-streets in pseudo-spontaneous, "flash mob"-style performances. She is also an instructor with Pacific Resident Theatre's Youth Conservatory, teaching----what else?----- Shakespeare. Children and Shakespeare have been an enduring passion for Ms. Charles, who holds a Masters Degree in Theatre and has earned her living as an actor for 25 years.

Nancy Linehan Charles has five adaptations of Shakespeare for middle schoolers, published through Dramatic Publishing, and she has directed or co-directed four of them. Her plays are being done around the country and in Canada and she believes they are a way of introducing kids to Shakespeare. Many adults have even said to her that they understood Hamlet or Macbeth for the first time. And teachers tell her they hear kids quoting Shakespeare to each other on the playground!

Take the bus (Big Blue #7!), take your kids (or that kid you don't mind babysitting), and check out some live theatre for cheaps! Adult are $10 and kids under 12 are only $7! Get your tickets at the door to avoid any surcharges. Don't say we didn't warn you.