Mundelein High students to stage ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Mundelein High School students will stage William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” Nov. 15-17.

Showtimes are 3:45 and 7 p.m. Nov. 15 and 7 p.m. the final two days in the school auditorium, 1350 W. Hawley St.

Tickets are available for $5 for students and seniors; $7 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

Students will try to honor the spirit of Shakespeare’s original productions, Director Jonathan Meier said.

“I have tried to stress to my students that Shakespeare is not sacred text,” Meier said. “It was popular entertainment for the masses. It was raucous, bawdy and beautiful, all at the same time.

“There were violent fights, fun dance sequences and, of course, some of the most beautiful poetry ever penned,” he added.

The set, lights and costumes for the show are patterned after the original Elizabethan productions, but the language and music will reflect a more modern feel.

“We need to make the language accessible for our audience,” Meier said. “It will be a very American-style production — no bad British accents.”

Junior Oscar Rodrigo Araiza Bravo will portray Romeo.

“We have all put in many hours analyzing the text and making sure we are making sense of everything,” he said.

Emma Morton, a sophomore who plays Juliet, agreed.

“Shakespeare gives you everything you need in the text,” she said. “It is just a question of knowing how to find it.”