“[…] the recent Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club (HRDC) and Hyperion Shakespeare Company production of Romeo & Juliet was more than a milestone at Harvard—it was a breakthrough that dared to reinvent a classic. With bold experimentation, visceral performances, and a fearless embrace of interdisciplinary artistry, this production transcended expectations, setting a new standard for what theater can achieve, and has challenged the very essence of how we experience Shakespeare.”
– Todd Bida, Harvard Independent
Photographed by Stella Gilbert.
Premiered at the Loeb Experimental Theater in November 2024.
Music composed by Sergei Prokofiev, as performed by The Cleveland Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
You know the story. Now, feel it like you don’t.
Romeo & Juliet is a contemporary dance-theater production set to Sergei Prokofiev’s iconic ballet score. Using a chorus that sets up and propels the story forward, R&J tells the classic tale from a retrospective perspective. Juliet, daring and bright, and Romeo, charismatic and radically optimistic, long for a world that can hold their expansive and enormous love. In an innovative blend of contemporary, ballet, and social and folk dance forms, the production introduces a new theatrical genre to the Harvard community.
This is not just another retelling of the Shakespearean tragedy; it’s an exploration of hope in the face of doom—an argument that love is the medium with which we generate an ideal future.
Photographed by Stella Gilbert.
Original cast:
Romeo ….. ELIO KENNEDY-YOON
Juliet ….. SACHIKO KIRBY
Mercutio ….. MIA STEIS
Benvolio ….. BRADY RAFFERTY
Tybalt ….. CAIT LEWIS
Lady Capulet ….. MAYA SHILONI
Nurse ….. SARAH ERICKSON
Friar Laurence ….. SAM GOLDBERG
Paris ….. THOM MCNEILLY
Rosaline ….. HEIDI ENGER
Featured Soloist / Chorus ….. SELORNA ACKUAYI, JOY AN, JESS HUNG, AUDREY SAKIEWICZ
Ensemble ….. PAOLA LEE-VEGA, MILENA MANOCCHIA, GRACE QIAO, ALLISON WAN
Photographed by Stella Gilbert.
Creatives:
Directed by Adrienne Chan
Choreographed by Adrienne Chan and Jimena Luque
Produced by Sky Jung, Claire Liu, Kai Lewis, and Charlie Benjamin
Stage Managed by Elizabeth Resner
Dramaturgy by Vander Ritchie and Claire Liu
Lighting Designed by Jada Pisani Lee and Kayla Bey
Scenic Design by Pin Sangkaeo and Benson Joseph (@snobs._)
Graphic Designed by Ricardo Fernandes Garcia
Adrienne Chan 