Where the boys aren't: All-female cast takes shot at 'Romeo & Juliet'
As director Sean Hargadon surveyed the crop of actors auditioning for his Janus Theatre Co. production of "Romeo & Juliet," he might have thought, "Wherefore art thou, dudes?"
"We had 40 people audition for the play, and over 30 women and not a lot of men, which is pretty normal," Hargadon says of the Elgin production. While another director might have considered the lack of male actors a problem, Hargadon's philosophy was to look on that adversity as sweet milk.
"Initially, I thought we could cast some women in male roles, but I had a really good cast of women come out," the director says. So he decided to put a spin on the all-male casts of Shakespeare's day, and stage his production with an all-female cast.
"So far it's proved to be really fruitful," Hargadon says. "With the classics you have to reinterpret, re-imagine them for a modern audience. Certain parts of the play that have become cliché over the years have new meaning now."
Looking at the classic story of the forbidden and doomed love between teens of two feuding families, "there's a lot of danger in there," Hargadon says.
Having a woman play the role of Romeo might help the audience feel that tension, the director says. But he predicts the audience, as did his cast, will soon be swept into the performance and forget about genders.
"We're not saying Juliet is in love with a woman," explains Audrey Flegel, 27, who grew up in Elgin, got a degree at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, teaches at Second City and plays the part of Juliet. "Romeo is still a man, just being played by a woman."
Chicagoan Jen Short "brings a great sensitivity to Romeo," Hargadon says.
"It really hasn't been a challenge," says Flegel, who notes actors know how to pretend to be in love. "I don't think, 'Oh, this is a girl.' This is the person I'm in love with. It doesn't bother me or get in my way."
Whether she's Belle falling in love with the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast," or any female lead falling in love with any male character, Flegel says the people on stage don't have to be attracted to each other.
"They're professionals," Hargadon says.
At one of the first rehearsals, Flegel says she leaned over to Short and said, "Romeo, give me a kiss."
"So she gave me a smooch real quick just so we could get used to it," Flegel says, adding that she thinks "having two women play it really pulls out the deep friendship" between Romeo and Juliet, who are "more than just lovers."
Besides, Flegel says, when Juliet and Romeo share a romantic moment, "I have my own personal Romeo in my mind."
Other members of the cast and crew are Sarafina Vecchio (Elgin native) as Lord Capulet, Jacqueline Davies (Chicago) as Lady Capulet, Angela Bend (St. Charles) as Mercutio/Paris, Valerie Heckman (Elgin) as Benvolio, Patricia True (Oak Park) as the Nurse, Catie Early (East Dundee) as Tybalt, Diane McFarlin (Sugar Grove) as Friar Lawrence, Lori Holm (Batavia) as Escalus/Apothocary, and Bylthe Gilio (Carol Stream) as Balthasar/ensemble.
"What this does is give it a new look," director Hargadon says of the all-female production. He predicts the audience will focus on the story and forget about the gender of the actors.
Or, as Shakespeare once noted, "The play's the thing."
<p class="factboxheadblack">"Romeo & Juliet"</p> <p class="News"><b>Where:</b> Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division Street, 8th Floor, Elgin</p> <p class="News"><b>When:</b> 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7 p.m. Sundays from Oct. 23 through Nov. 8 </p> <p class="News"><b>Tickets:</b> $15. They can be reserved by calling the box office at (847) 841-1713.</p> <p class="News"><b>Information:</b> <a href="http://janustheatre.wordpress.com" target="new">janustheatre.wordpress.com</a>.</p>