Who: National Asian American Theatre Company, Two River Theater
What: Virtual benefit reading of modern verse translation
Where: Two River Rising,
When: Wednesday, September 30, and Thursday, October 1, $25, 7:00
Why: In 2015, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival announced “Play On Shakespeare,” an ambitious project in which thirty-six contemporary playwrights would provide modern translations of all thirty-nine of the Bard’s plays. On September 30 and October 1, the NAATCO National Partnership Project (NNPP), in a collaboration between the National Asian American Theatre Company and Two River Theater in New Jersey, will present an online benefit reading of South Korean playwright Hansol Jung’s (Wild Goose Dreams, Cardboard Piano) interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, originally commissioned for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. The all-Asian American cast features Mitchell Winter as Romeo, Stephanie Hsu as Juliet, Joel de la Fuente as Capulet, David Huynh as Mercutio, Tina Chilip as Tybalt, Vanessa Kai as Lady Capulet, Mia Katigbak as the nurse, Andrew Pang as Friar Laurence, Jon Norman Schneider as Petruchio, and Jeena Yi as Benvolio, with all performers taking on multiple roles; Obie winner Chay Yew (A Language of Their Own, Wonderland) serves as director.
“To most theater lovers, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a dramatic palimpsest; resonant and complicated, it remains a core myth for many,” TRT artistic director John Dias said in a statement. “Itself layered with borrowed stories and cultural appropriation, R&J beats with a universal heart of love and hate. The play still has much to teach us, and I love the echoes and layers that Hansol has added to it.” The first part of the show will be livestreamed on September 30 at 7:30, with part two streaming October 1 at 7:30, followed by a Q&A. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Asian Pride Project, which “celebrates the journeys, triumphs, and struggles of LGBTQ individuals and our Asian and Pacific Islander families and communities.” Future NNPP productions include NAATCO collaborating with Long Wharf Theatre on Madhuri Shekar’s Queen in February 2021 as well as with New York Theatre Workshop and Soho Rep.