Cat Rutledge and WFAE's Mike Collins star in "Love Letters" this weekend.

The Davidson College Theater Department this month presents a bigger, bolder version of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Also in this column, Davidson Community Players’ “Love Letters” continues its run, and the Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius brings shows for all ages this fall, with another interactive murder mystery by About Town Tours and an engaging show for children three years and younger by Play Play!. See below for details.

DAVIDSON COLLEGE THEATRE DEPT. PRESENTS ROMEO AND JULIET

The Davidson College Theatre Department invites the public to a bold, original production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet on the weekends of Oct. 22 and 29.

Performances will be in Duke Family Performance Hall Friday, Oct. 21. at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m., Friday, Oct. 28, at 8:15 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. General admission is $15, $11 for seniors and $6 for students. Tickets can be purchased by calling 704-894-2135 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, or online at  www.davidson.edu/tickets. The play is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Director Mark Sutch, assistant professor of theatre, says Davidson’s production of the timeless tale of star-crossed lovers and the tragedies that befall them will stand out through its special attention to creative storytelling and non-traditional staging.

Maggie Birgel ’14 (Juliet) and Brandon Smalls ’12 (Romeo) will both tackle Shakespeare for the first time in this production and are excited to give these iconic characters their own unique spin.

“It’s a special challenge, since everyone already has an opinion of the story and text,” Birgel said in a statement. “But the most important thing is to avoid playing the stereotype and to make the story our own.”

Sutch added, “They both have a great understanding of how to relate to this story and live out these characters’ deepest wants and needs, which is the most crucial thing in any play.”

Sutch believes what makes Romeo and Juliet the most revered love story of all time has little to do with its historical setting. Therefore, the Davidson production will avoid all typically applied Shakespearean styles and mannerisms and focus purely on Shakespeare’s compelling text and beautiful story.  In doing so, the production will create a world for the play free from any time period, highlighting the stark contrast between Romeo and Juliet’s pure, organic love and the artificiality of world around them.

“What makes their instantaneous love so powerful? Love becomes their alternative to existing in a rigid, man-made world that’s far gone from our natural wants and impulses as human beings,” Sutch said. “They see a love in each other that provides freedom from the manufactured world, and they realize that this love is far more honest than anything they’ve ever known before.”

The production also will bring the audience face to face with this world through use of the physical set. Set designer Joe Gardner, professor of theatre, is eliminating the first few rows of seating in Duke Family Performance Hall to extend the stage beyond its normal boundaries. Multiple platforms and bridges will jut across the open pit and out into the audience. Sutch said the intention is to place the performance into the laps of the audience members, producing a greater sense of overall intimacy and connection. Guest artist lighting designer David Fillmore will use “larger than life” lighting to express the huge stakes and heavy emotions encompassed in scenes throughout the play.

The show also will feature numerous actors’ talents with musical instruments, and Sutch has built opportunities for live music to be played by actors in the show, rather than by using prerecorded sound cues.

Romeo and Juliet contains a large number of violent fight scenes that require preparation and practice. To master the art of stage combat, Sutch enlisted the professional help of Dale Girard, a fight instructor at the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. Smalls, who plays the role of Romeo, said, “We have to work diligently at making the combat look convincing while making it safe, especially since we will be working on the extended stage with rapiers that are potentially dangerous. The close proximity of the sword fights should be very exciting for audience members.”

In addition to the scheduled productions, the Theatre Department will introduce area youth to Romeo and Juliet during a special matinee performance specifically for middle and high school students. Some of the actors also will offer Shakespeare workshops in nearby schools so students can interact with the actors before they see the show.

In addition to Birgel and Smalls in the title roles, the Romeo and Juliet cast includes Davidson students Ryan Chiles, Kara Copeland, Dinah Decker, Audrey Gyurgyik, Benjamin Heimfeld, Christa Johnson, Amelia Lumpkin, Nick McGuire, Allen Rigby, Madison Rigger, and Chance Ruder.

SEE ‘LOVE LETTERS’ FOR DATE NIGHT

Davidson Community Players presents “Love Letters” by A.R. Gurney, directed by Wrenn Goodrum, through Oct. 23. The play is a character study based on the lifetime exchange of letters of two people who grow from friends into lovers.

The play is a unique and imaginative celebration of the often lost art of old-fashioned letter-writing and the power it has to connect us emotionally and spiritually. The story chronicles the lifetime exchange of letters between two people who begin as friends, but grow up to lead separate lives, all the while sharing confidences.

Characters Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III discuss the hopes and ambitions, dreams and disappointments, victories and defeats that have passed between them throughout their lives. One important letter reveals how, while physically apart, Melissa and Andrew were as spiritually as close as only true lovers can be.

“Love Letters” is being directed by Wrenn Goodrum, who previously directed Davidson Community Players’ productions of “Charlotte’s Web,” “Stuart Little,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream –Unplugged.”

For the show’s three-weekend run, Goodrum cast three pairs of actors, each bringing a different dynamic and perspective to the roles. Opening weekend featured retired Davidson College professor Max Polley and Nyra Brannon, his neighbor at the Pines Retirement Community. Local actor Cat Rutledge and WFAE-FM’s “Charlotte Talks” host Mike Collins will collaborate this weekend. The final week-end’s performances will include Ginny Darcy, who has been seen on the Players’ stage many times, and Hess Wertz.

Performances are Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. at Armour Street Theatre, 305 Armour St., Davidson. Box Office: 704-892-7953. Info: www.DavidsonCommunityPlayers.org

A ‘PLAY PLAY!’ PLAY – AT THE WAREHOUSE NEXT MONTH

After a sold out run at Children’s Theatre of Charlotte in August, PlayPlay! next month is bringing “Psshh” to the Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius. The theater company creates shows for children three years and younger. Its third, original production, “Psshh” (pronounced like the sound of water shooting) is the simple story of a boat, a cloud, the sun and water. The actors use sights, sounds, and song to engage the audience, so little people and their loved ones experience the story together through seeing, feeling and hearing.

WANT TO GO?

The Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216-A Westmoreland Road, presents ‘Psshh’ Nov. 12-20 at various times. Click here to view the production schedule.

Because of the young audience, seating is very limited. Fewer than 35 tickets are available for each performance. Click here to buy them now.

WHODUNIT? ABOUT TOWN TOURS PRESENTS ‘EVIL NEVER DIES’

Detectives call for help from the audience as they try to solve a case involving Evil-Eyed Emil, in About Town Tours’ second interactive murder mystery, “Evil Never Dies,” Oct. 29 at the Warehouse Performing Arts Center.

The premise:

When Emil looked at people with his infamous right eye, bad things invariably happened. As he was being driven out of Reaper Junction on Halloween night 100 years ago, Emil vowed to return one day to wreak his vengeance.

Well, the time is here and Emil has been sighted. And true to his century-old proclamation, someone has been the victim of Emil’s anger.  Audience members must put on their sleuthing hats, meet the suspects and figure out “whodunit.”

WANT TO GO?

Join the case Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. at The Warehouse Performing Arts Center, 9216-A Westmoreland Road.

Tickets are $20.00.  For reservations call 704-619.0429 or email tickets@warehousepac.com