THE PUBLIC THEATER’S BILINGUAL PODCAST PRODUCTION CO-PRESENTED WITH WNYC STUDIOS, ROMEO Y JULIETA, DEBUTS THURSDAY, MARCH 18
By William Shakespeare
Adapted by Saheem Ali & Ricardo Pérez González
Based on the Spanish Translation by Alfredo Michel Modenessi
Directed by Saheem Ali
Lupita Nyong’o and Juan Castano to Play the Star-Crossed Lovers
World Premiere Online Listening Party on March 18 at 7pm
WNYC’s Rebeca Ibarra will Host Interactive Q&A with the Creative Team
Presented Through a Collaboration by WNYC Studios, The Public Theater, and The Greene Space
LISTEN TO THE EXCLUSIVE AUDIO TRAILER NOW
March 9, 2021 – The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) and WNYC Studios, one of the industry’s most influential podcast producers, will debut the bilingual audio adaptation of Romeo y Julieta on Thursday, March 18. Featuring Lupita Nyong’o and Juan Castano as the star-crossed lovers, this world premiere production has been adapted by Saheem Ali and Ricardo Pérez González, based on the Spanish translation by Alfredo Michel Modenessi and directed by Saheem Ali.
ROMEO Y JULIETA can be found wherever podcasts are available.
Audiences around the globe can also join an online opening night listening party, presented by The Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR, on Thursday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. Lupita Nyong’o, Juan Castano and others will join WNYC’s Rebeca Ibarra for an evening featuring an interactive Q & A and live music, presented in English and Spanish. Join before the listening party at 6:45 p.m. for a special cocktail demo and pre-show warm-up. Tune in free of charge at www.thegreenespace.org.
In addition, throughout the day on March 18, WQXR — WNYC’s sister classical music station — will share works by Tchaikovsky, Rota, Prokofiev, and Berlioz that were inspired by the same timeless story on 105.9 FM in New York and online at www.wqxr.org.
This marks the second collaboration between The Public Theater and New York Public Radio on an audio theater production; the four-part radio play Free Shakespeare on the Radio: Richard II – also directed by Ali – launched on WNYC last summer to critical acclaim and is currently available as a podcast series.
Tony Plana (Chorus) joins the previously announced cast which includes Carlo Albán (Benvolio), Karina Arroyave (Apothecary), Erick Betancourt (Abram), Michael Braugher (Balthasar), Carlos Carrasco (Lord Montague), Juan Castano (Romeo), Ivonne Coll (Nurse), John J. Concado (Peter), Hiram Delgado (Tybalt), Guillermo Diaz (Gregory), Sarah Nina Hayon (Lady Montague), Kevin Herrera (Ensemble), Modesto Lacen (Prince Escalus/Capulet’s Cousin), Florencia Lozano (Capulet), Irene Sofia Lucio (Mercutio), Keren Lugo (Sister Joan), Benjamin Luis McCracken (Paris’s Page), Julio Monge (Friar Lawrence), Javier Muñoz (Paris), Lupita Nyong’o (Julieta), and David Zayas (Sampson).
Director Saheem Ali continues his audio exploration of William Shakespeare’s canon with a new production of ROMEO Y JULIETA, collaborating with playwright Ricardo Pérez González on an adaptation of noted scholar Alfredo Michel Modenessi’s Spanish translation. Actor Lupita Nyong’o plays Julieta, with Juan Castano as her Romeo, in this bilingual Spanish and English production that will bring one of history’s most famed lovers to your homes and phones in a stunning new audio play.
ROMEO Y JULIETA features original music composed and performed by Michael Thurber, sound design by Bray Poor and Jessica Paz, and audio supervision by Bray Poor. Isaac Jones served as lead engineer; Beth Lake, Izumi Marie Rosas, and Chris Morocco were audio engineers; and Janelle Caso served as Production Stage Manager. WQXR’s Elliott Forrest served as Creative Consultant to the project and WQXR’s Max Fine served as Digital Producer. WNYC’s Jami Floyd served as Consulting Producer.
The Public Theater strives to make its performances, digital content, and facilities accessible to all patrons and visitors. For additional information or if you have questions, need assistance, or an accommodation to access our digital content, please email accessibility@publictheater.org.
ABOUT NEW YORK PUBLIC RADIO:
With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, New York Public Radio (NYPR) produces innovative public radio programs, podcasts, and live events that touch a passionate community of 23.4 million people monthly on air, online and in person. From its state-of-the-art studios in New York City, NYPR is reshaping radio for a new generation of listeners with groundbreaking, award-winning programs including Radiolab, On the Media, The Takeaway, Dolly Parton’s America, Carnegie Hall Live, and Aria Code, among many others. New York Public Radio includes WNYC, WQXR, WNYC Studios, Gothamist, The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, and New Jersey Public Radio. Further information about programs, podcasts, and stations may be found at www.nypublicradio.org.
ABOUT THE PUBLIC THEATER:
THE PUBLIC is theater of, by, and for all people. Artist-driven, radically inclusive, and fundamentally democratic, The Public continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on-stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today. Conceived over 60 years ago as one of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public’s wide breadth of programming includes an annual season of new work at its landmark home at Astor Place, Free Shakespeare in the Park at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park, the Mobile Unit touring throughout New York City’s five boroughs, Public Forum, Under the Radar, Public Studio, Public Works, Public Shakespeare Initiative, and Joe’s Pub. Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Girl From the North Country. Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 184 Obie Awards, 55 Drama Desk Awards, 58 Lortel Awards, 34 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, 56 AUDELCO Awards, 6 Antonyo Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org
The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater’s year-round activities.
Lead support for The Public’s digital programming provided by Bank of America, JetBlue Airways, Bloomberg Philanthropies, The Blavatnik Family Foundation, Ford Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Open Society Foundations, American Express, and The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.