ANN ARBOR – Summer in Ann Arbor means endless festivals, filled parks and pools and a bustling downtown. It also means the beloved Shakespeare in the Arb is back.
This year, the annual theater series is presenting "Romeo and Juliet" at the University of Michigan Nichols Arboretum at 1610 Washington Heights.
Recommended Videos
It is the first time the group will be performing Shakespeare's famous tragedy, a departure from its longtime tradition of producing the playwright's comedies.
Dates:
- June 7-10, 14-17, 21-24, 2018
- All performances begin at 6:30 p.m.
The director and drama lecturer in the U-M Residential College, Kate Mendeloff, was presented with two major challenges when choosing to present the play: Taking on another version of the work that is familiar to many in the audience is intimidating, and the challenge of the setting itself in nature.
A past production in the Nichols Arboretum (Photo: Shakespeare in the Arb)
"Everyone knows it, and the speeches are so familiar, that it is intimidating to present another version, especially one without a balcony," she said in a press release.
She said that the choice to produce "Romeo and Juliet" was inspired by the current sociopolitical climate in America.
"The tragedy of the play is not with the youth, but with the older generation who have perpetrated the division between Montague and Capulet, so that it continues to poison the whole society. Doing a play where the ruling elite manipulate young people through division, and hate shows the tragic result of growing up in a system of violence, should resonate powerfully." Mendeloff said.
"Romeo in Juliet" is directed by Mendeloff as well as Shakespeare in the Arb actor alums Carol Gray and Graham Atkin. It is performed by students at the Residential College and local actors.
As the scenes change, the production moves through different locations in the Arb, an experience that draws thousands of Shakespeare fans to Ann Arbor each June.
For ticket prices, parking and location info, visit the event's website.
About Shakespeare in the Arb
Shakespeare in the Arb began in 2001 when Mendeloff was asked to direct an outdoor production as part of a Ford Motor Co. grant for Arts in Nichols Arboretum. She chose Shakespeare's masterpiece "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a play about the transformation of people through nature, that, she says, is perfect for the Arb, with its natural setting, structure and language.
The production was such a success that Mendeloff remounted it the following summer, and since then Shakespeare in the Arb has become an Ann Arbor tradition and an enduring collaboration between Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, U-M students and the Residential College.