Romeo and Juliet

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Liz Lauren

Two people embrace.

Isabelle Bushue (left) and Joshua Castille, "Romeo & Juliet," American Players Theatre, 2023.

There is no more famous play written in English than Romeo and Juliet and many of the lines in Shakespeare’s tale of the star-crossed lovers are commonplace phrases even today (“a rose by any other name”…“a plague on both your houses”…and the list goes on). In this production, American Players Theatre casts two deaf actors and incorporates American Sign Language into the show, perhaps making the play accessible to a new audience. Romeo is deaf, and played by deaf actor Joshua Castille; this throws further roadblocks into the paths of the lovers. (Robert Schleifer, who plays Friar Lawrence, is also deaf.) APT reports that most of the signed lines will also be spoken aloud by a chorus, for the hearing audience, and four performances will be fully ASL interpreted.

media release: By William Shakespeare, directed by John Langs, in the Hill Theatre.

Tickets are on sale for returning audience. General public on-sale starts April 24.

Oh, do we have a show for you. A play that makes every best-of list grows even more glorious with the marriage of Shakespeare’s spoken poetry with the soulful expression of American Sign Language. Every stanza a dance, the aural with the visual. Shakespeare’s words pirouette on the Hill stage, as his poetry swirls through the air, amplifying the impact of a story that fills and breaks our hearts, time and again. The breathtaking bloom of young love. A savage family rivalry raging in a state addicted to adrenaline and violence. Verona is a place where you move or you die. If anyone took a second to think, maybe things would turn out differently. Runs August 11 - October 7.

In this gorgeous new production, American Sign Language is seamlessly united with Shakespeare’s sweeping poetry. The story is one you likely know - the feuding Montague and Capulet clans come crashing together when the star-crossed Romeo and Juliet fall utterly in love, even though, in this case, they speak different languages. As characters speak their truths with their whole hearts, a chorus of actors speaks along with the signing in this lush, full-hearted imagining of one of the greatest tragedies ever written.

Featuring two actors who are deaf - Joshua Castille playing Romeo and Robert Schleifer playing Friar Lawrence- this production explores nuances between characters a new way.

FEATURING: Nathan Barlow, Kendall Cafaro, Joshua Castille, Sun Mee Chomet, Jim DeVita, Tim Gittings, Kailey Azure Green, Casey Hoekstra, Rasell Holt, Jamal James, Josh Krause, Gavin Lawrence, Colleen Madden, Daniel José Molina, Ronald Román-Meléndez, Robert Schleifer, Lindsay Welliver. Casting subject to change.

While this production contains ASL, most of the signed lines will also be spoken aloud. Captioning will be available using the GalaPro system or app.

Romeo & Juliet performances will be fully ASL interpreted on the following dates: Saturday, August 19 at 8:00 PM; Wednesday, September 27 at 10:00 AM (Student Matinee Performance); Sunday, October 1 at 6:00 PM; Tuesday, October 3 at 10:30 AM (Student Matinee Performance)

Seats with the best view of the interpreter are in Section 6, rows H and back, and noted on the seating chart for each of these performances. The Box Office is happy to help you book seats in view of the interpreter.

Visit APT's accessibility page for the full list of ASL interpreted performances this season, or for more information.