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Artistic Director’s Welcome

Welcome to the 45th Season at the A.R.T.!

I have always wanted to direct a production of Romeo and Juliet. For years, the hate between the warring Capulets and Montagues felt dominant to me, and as a director, I found myself searching for the difference between these families that has resulted in their “ancient grudge.” But Shakespeare does not give us any details about this—in fact, all he tells us is that these two families are “both alike in dignity.” Re-reading the play in preparation for this process, a line Romeo says to Benvolio jumped out at me: “Here’s much to do with hate, but more with love.” It made me think: what if we didn’t look at Romeo and Juliet as a story about hate, but rather as a story about love?

One of the most inspiring collaborations I have ever had was with my colleague, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, when we worked together on Jagged Little Pill. I am thrilled to be partnering with him again as our choreographer and movement director for Romeo and Juliet. Together, we are collaborating with a creative team that includes a number of artists who are returning to the A.R.T.: Scenic Designer Amy Rubin (Gloria: A Life), Costume Designer Emilio Sosa (1776, ExtraOrdinary, The White Card, Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), O.P.C., Witness Uganda, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Best of Both Worlds), Lighting Designer Jen Schriever (1776, Fingersmith, In the Body of the World), Sound Designer Daniel Lundberg (1776), and Hair, Wig, & Make-up designer J. Jared Janas (Jagged Little Pill, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3), The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, The Tempest). We are excited to welcome Composer Alexandre Dai Castaing, who is making his A.R.T. debut.

In collaboration with our creative and Engagement teams, the A.R.T. develops an Essential Question for every production that we stage, which we share with our audiences, our students, our staff, and our community. For Romeo and Juliet, we invite you to engage with this question: In what ways do we define our lives through hatred? In what ways do we define our lives through love?

The act of coming to the theater is a chance to be together with others, and to listen with your heart.

Thank you for joining us, and for experiencing this story.

Diane Paulus
Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director

American Repertory Theater

Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus

Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.

presents

ROMEO AND JULIET

Creative Team

First performance at the Loeb Drama Center on August 31, 2024.

Production Support of Romeo and Juliet is provided by Janet and Irv Plotkin.

Media Support of Romeo and Juliet is provided by WBUR.

A.R.T. Season support is provided by Harvard University, The Barr Foundation, The Bob and Alison Murchison New Work Development Fund, The Shubert Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Barton & Guestier, and Meyer Sound.

The A.R.T. 2024/25 Season is supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Runtime: Two hours and thirty minutes, including one intermission

This production depicts violence, stabbing, murder, and suicide, and contains haze.

Company & Staff

Cast (in Alphabetical Order)

Lord Capulet

Terence Archie

Lord Capulet

Terence Archie

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Company; Kiss Me, Kate; Rocky; Ragtime. Off-Broadway: Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, The Public Theater; 1776, Encores!; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Second Stage; Romeo and Juliet, Classical Theatre of Harlem; Fredrick Douglass Free, GWC Peanut Price, Urban Stages. International: Rocky: Das Musical, Operettenhaus Hamburg. TV: “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” “The Walking Dead: World Beyond,” “For Life,” “Elementary,” “Blue Bloods.” Education: BFA, Drama, North Carolina School of the Arts.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Prince

Jason Bowen

Prince

Jason Bowen

(he/him) A.R.T.: The Half-God of Rainfall. Broadway: The Play That Goes Wrong. Off-Broadway: The Half-God of Rainfall, NYTW/A.R.T.; Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Keen Company; Long Day’s Journey into Night, Audible Theater; Native Son, The Acting Co.; If Pretty Hurts…, Playwrights Horizons. Regional: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (IRNE Award for Best Actor, Drama), Huntington Theatre. TV/Film: “Blue Bloods,” “Madam Secretary,” “Elementary” (CBS), “Law & Order: SVU” (NBC), “The Good Fight” (Paramount+), Mother/Android, The Upside, What’s Your Number?.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Nurse

Sharon Catherine Brown

Nurse

Sharon Catherine Brown

(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Days of Wine and Roses; Caroline, or Change; Head Over Heels; Dreamgirls. National Tour: A Night with Janis Joplin, Jekyll & Hyde, Rent, Dreamgirls (Effie; Helen Hayes Award). World Tour: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Workshops: Spunk, Yale Rep; Frank Wildhorn’s The Song of Bernadette. TV/Film: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Sister Act II, “The Good Fight.” Training: Michael Moriarty (Shakespeare), Peter Frechette (Chekhov), The Actors Studio, Uta Hagen, Herbert Berghof.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Lord Montague, Friar John

Bradley Dean

Lord Montague, Friar John

Bradley Dean

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: A Little Night Music, Company, Spamalot, The Last Ship, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, Man of La Mancha, Doctor Zhivago, Jane Eyre, Dear Evan Hansen. Off Broadway/NYC: Here We Are, The Shed; Bat Out of Hell, NY City Center; A New Brain, The Most Happy Fella, Encores!; Sweeney Todd, NY Philharmonic. Regional: Chess, Kennedy Center; Galileo, Berkeley Rep; Life After, The Old Globe; Fly, Dallas Theater Center; A Comedy of Tenors, McCarter Theatre Center.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Benvolio

Brandon Dial

Benvolio

Brandon Dial

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: A Raisin in the Sun, The Public Theater. Regional: Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Photograph 51, Berkshire Theatre Group; Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing, Into the Woods, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Education: MFA: NYU Grad Acting.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Paris

Adi Dixit

Paris

Adi Dixit

(he/him) A.R.T: Life of Pi. Broadway: Life of Pi. TV: “Young Sheldon.” Film: Sweethearts. Education: BFA, Acting, University of Southern California.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Understudy for Nurse, Lady Montague, Lady Capulet

Kristian Espiritu

Understudy for Nurse, Lady Montague, Lady Capulet

Kristian Espiritu

(they/she) A.R.T.: Romeo and Juliet. Off-Broadway: Here Lies Love (Ensemble/Soloist), The Public Theater. First National Tour: School of Rock (Ensemble/Patty u/s, Sheinkopf u/s). Regional: The Heart Sellers, The Huntington Theatre; The Drowsy Chaperone (Kitty), Assassins (Ensemble/Emma Goldman), Lyric Stage Company; Mr. Popper’s Penguins (Mrs. Popper), Wheelock Family Theatre; The Rise and Fall of Holly Fudge, Merrimack Repertory Theatre; Interstate, East West Players; Once On This Island (Erzulie), Pioneer Theatre Company; Little Shop of Horrors (Crystal), Music Theatre of Connecticut. TV: “Love Life,” “Ray Donovan,” “Hunters,” “Younger.”

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Friar Laurence

Terrence Mann

Friar Laurence

Terrence Mann

(he/him) A.R.T.: ExtraOrdinary, Pippin. Broadway: Tuck Everlasting (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Pippin (Tony Award and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Beauty and The Beast (Tony Award nomination), Les Misérables (Tony Award nomination), Finding Neverland, Cats, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Addams Family, The Rocky Horror Show, A Christmas Carol. Off-Broadway: Only Gold, Jerry Springer – The Opera (Lucille Lortel nomination), Assassins. TV/Film: “Foundation,” “Sense8,” “The Dresden Files,” Mrs. Santa Claus, “As The World Turns” (Emmy Award nomination), A Chorus Line, Critters.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Lady Montague

Abiola Obatolu

Lady Montague

Abiola Obatolu

(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. National Tour: Odyssey, The Acting Company. Regional: The Color Purple, Broadway at Music Circus Sacramento; This is How You Capture the Light, The Kennedy Center. Education: BFA, Carnegie Mellon. Awards: The Helen Wayne Rauh Award for Excellence in Acting.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Romeo

Rudy Pankow

Romeo

Rudy Pankow

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. TV: “Outer Banks” (JJ), Netflix. Film: Uncharted (Sam Drake), Sony; Accidental Texan (Erwin Vandeveer), Roadside Attractions; 5lbs of Pressure, Lionsgate. Awards: 2023 MTV Movie & TV Award, Netflix’s global top 10 weekly list, multiple People’s Choice and MTV Movie & TV Awards (“Outer Banks”).

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Tybalt

Alex Ross

Tybalt

Alex Ross

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: The Book of Mormon (Standby Elder Price). National Tour: A Soldier’s Play (Standby Taylor/Byrd/Wilcox). Regional: Cabaret, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Dallas Theater Center; Jersey Boys, Theatre Aspen; Bull, Second Thought Theatre; City of Angels, Theatre Three; The Boy from Oz, Uptown Players. TV/Film: “Law & Order: SVU,” “NCIS: LA,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Queen of the South,” “Long Road Home,” “Revolution,” Logan Lucky, Bull, Terrifier 3 (upcoming).

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Abraham, Peter

Will Savarese

Abraham, Peter

Will Savarese

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. National Tour: Frozen (Hans), Hairspray (Link). Educational: Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida (Troilus). Education: BFA, Acting, Baldwin Wallace University.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Understudy for Abraham, Peter

Bernardo Sequeira^†

Understudy for Abraham, Peter

Bernardo Sequeira^†

A.R.T.: Debut. Educational: Heist, Heist, Baby!, Cosmic Relief, The Hasty Pudding Theatricals; In the Heights, Under Control/Utter Chaos, OUT, Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club. Education: Currently pursuing a BA in English at Harvard.

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Sampson, Apothecary

Adam Shaukat

Sampson, Apothecary

Adam Shaukat

(he/him) A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Chautauqua Theater Company. TV/Film: “Before,” Sex-Positive, Zero Day, The Philosophy of Dress, The Sandwich Line. Education: BA, Philosophy, Carleton College; MFA, Acting, Yale School of Drama.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Mercutio

Clay Singer

Mercutio

Clay Singer

(he/they) A.R.T.: Debut. First National Tour: The Band’s Visit (Itzik). New York: The Last Five Years, Core Theatre Group, AEA LAB. Regional: Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik), The MUNY; Into the Woods (Jack), Barrington Stage; 4000 Miles (Leo), Westport Country Playhouse. Education: BFA, Carnegie Mellon University; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Juliet

Emilia Suárez

Juliet

Emilia Suárez

(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Destiny of Desire, The Old Globe; Zero, Ashland New Plays Festival; The Decameron, Quantum Theatre. Workshops/Readings: A Death in the Family, NYTW; National History, The O’Neill Center; Destiny of Desire, The Public Theater. TV/Film: “Up Here,” A Good Person. Education: BFA, Carnegie Mellon.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Understudy for Sampson

Michael Torto^†

Understudy for Sampson

Michael Torto^†

A.R.T.: Debut. Educational: Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (Rodney King, Jessye Norman), Pipeline (Omari), The Brothers Size (Ogun Size), Lincoln Park Theater.

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Lady Capulet

Nicole Villamil

Lady Capulet

Nicole Villamil

(she/her) A.R.T.: Debut. Broadway: Network (Sheila). Off-Broadway: Merry Me (Sapph), NYTW; Wolf Play (Robin), Soho Rep; Wolf Play (Robin), MCC Theater; How to Load a Musket (Javier/Jane), 59E59; Queens (Isabela/Glenys), LCT3; Lessons in Survival, Vineyard Theatre; MUD (Mae), Boundless Theatre; Shakespeare’s R&J (Student 1), Hangar Theatre; De Profundis (Solo), PlayMakers Rep. TV: “New Amsterdam,” “The Last OG.” Education: MFA, Brown/Trinity Repertory Co.; BA, University of Pennsylvania. Awards: 2023 Lucille Lortel Award Recipient for Outstanding Ensemble.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Understudies

Understudies never substitute for listed players unless a specific announcement for the appearance is made at the time of the performance.

Additional Staff

Access Staff

A.R.T. Staff

Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director:
Diane Paulus

Executive Director:
Kelvin Dinkins, Jr.

SENIOR STAFF

Director of Facilities and Capital Projects: Peter Atkinson
Public Relations Director: Rebecca Curtiss
General Manager: Connor Davis
Managing Director: Anna Fitzloff
Director of Finance: Julia Goldmacher
Senior Theater and Facilities Manager: Tracy Keene
Producer: Mark Lunsford
Director of Production: Krystin Matsumoto
Director of Artistic Programs & Dramaturg: Ryan McKittrick
Interim Director of Development: Sarah McLellan
Associate Artistic Director: Dayron J. Miles
Chief Marketing Officer: Jennifer Weissman

STAFF

Artistic & Engagement

Artistic Coordinator & Special Assistant to the Artistic Director: Karina Cowperthwaite
Head of Voice & Speech: Erika Bailey
Associate Director, Pedagogical Programs: Marcus Stern
Associate Director, Pedagogical Programs: Julia Smeliansky
Production Manager, Pedagogical Programs: Jeremie Lozier
Assistant Production Supervisor, Pedagogical Programs: Evey Connerty-Marin
Artistic Associate in Community: Leah Harris
Assistant to the Associate Artistic Director: Madison Baker
Learning Lab Assistant: Ariella Kasmer-Jacobs
Learning Leads: Alex Smith, Vahdat Yeganeh

Producing

Associate Producer: Emma Watt
Associate Production Manager: Taylor Brennan
Company Manager: Shannon Kelley
Assistant Company Manager: Michael Mathey

Marketing & Communications

Associate Director, Marketing and Communications: Susanna Jackson
Associate Director, Creative Services: Joel Zayac
Subscriptions and Group Sales Manager: Kirstin Beal
Web and Digital Communications Manager: David Libbey
Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator: Madeleine Wright
Assistant Graphic Designer: Dana Balletta
Program Coordinator: Lianna Rada-Hung

Development

Associate Director, Institutional Giving: Anna Cline
Associate Director, Stewardship & Major Gifts: Lisa Field-Coleman
Assistant Director, Institutional Events & Partnerships: Alicia Hartz
Assistant Director, Development Operations: Blair Laurie
Senior Coordinator, Advancement & Development Engagement: Julia Wolfe
Interim Development Coordinator: Kayte Zhang

Facilities

Assistant Project Manager: Alex Giorgetti
Loeb Receptionists: Barbara Lindstrom, Maria Medeiros
Custodial Supervisor: Ana Osorioportillo
Custodial Team: Felipe Barahona, Santos Ruiz Lopez, Marvin Ventura
Facilities Maintenance Service Team: Anthony Radosta, Michael Shaw, Jeremiah Sullivan

Finance

Controller: Toufiq Aitelfqih
Accountant: Nathan Pratt
Senior Payroll Coordinator: Alessandra Panares
Temporary Financial Assistant: Medea Burdick

Patron Services

Head of Patron Services: Emma Putnam
Ticket Services Manager: Heather Conroe
Assistant Ticket Services Manager: Tori Loubert
Ticket Services Representatives: Rachael Cohen, Jessica Golden, Emma Hunt
Ticket Services Staff: Sam Donato, Emma Getz, Michelle Hong, Elliot Lazar, Alexia Rowe, Lizzie Schwarze
Front of House Manager: Matt Spano

Production

Production Manager: Skip Curtiss

Scenic

Technical Director: Jim Bernhardt
Interim Assistant Technical Director: Brian Melcher
Head Scenic Carpenter: Peter Doucette
Lead Scenic Carpenter: York-Andreas Paris
Scenic Carpenters: Bill Hawkins, Ray Reyes
Term Scenic Carpenters: Diego Farrell, Sam Kisthardt, Dawn Morningstar, Luke Van Cleve

Paint

Charge Scenic Artist: Gerard Vogt
Assistant Charge Scenic Artist: Heather Morris
Term Scenic Artist: India Lee

Stage Operations

Stage Operations Manager: Kevin Belcher
Assistant Stage Operations Manager/Lead Rigger: Jonathan Strong
Deck Lead: Kate Hausler
Staff Deck Carpenter: Errick Jersey
Staff Props Runner: Christina Donovan
Flyperson: Avery Hunt
Automation Programmer and Operator: Rosemary Grace Hartunian Alumbaugh
Swing Deck Carpenters: Preston Treadwell, Emily Hanson

Costumes

Costume Manager: Muriel Mangual-Bennett
Interim Assistant Costume Manager: Melissa Thurn
Crafts Artisan: Jeffrey Scott Burrows

Wardrobe

Wardrobe Manager: Alycia Marucci
Wig and Wardrobe Dresser: Emily Damron
Dressers: Brian Choinski, Michelle Villada

Sound

Sound Manager: Camilo Atehortua
Assistant Sound Manager: Bryan Atterberry
Front of House Sound Engineer (A1): Abe Joyner-Meyers
Sound Technician (A2): Kai Bohlman, Em Bonnici
Production and Event Sound Engineer (A1/A2 sub): Michael Policare

Lighting

Lighting and Projections Supervisor: Matthew Adelman
Assistant Lighting Supervisor: Joseph Lorenzen
Lighting and Projections Programmer and Operator: Sumner Ellsworth
Staff Electricians: Toni Carton, Hannah Jope, Ryan Lemay, Callie Moos

Properties

Properties Manager: Erin Kehr
Assistant Properties Manager: Mariya Sudarska
Properties Carpenter: Patrick Goodsell
Properties Artisan: Elektra T. Newman

Production Overhire

Scenic Overhire: Steven Asaro, Dean Covert, Thomas Eckenfels, Joseph Fanning, Em McGrory, Matthew Kadam, Marty Keslar, Courtney Licata, Aiden Marshall, Ricky Ortiz, Kalika Reece, Eric Schapero, Brian Vlasak, Xavier Vogt, Michelle Walker
Costume Coordinator: Emily Keebler
NYC Costume Coordinator: AJ Jones
Assistant NYC Costumer Coordinator: Bria Dinkins
Crafts Assistant: Elizabeth Rocha
Draper: Robin Keith Houston
First Hands: Racheal Linker, Vyannie Saldana, Khadija Strokes
Stitchers: Rebecca Shannon Butler, Aldi Hegger, Yao Kuang Lee, Vyannie Saldana, Kim Vercoe
Dressers: Tyeshia Cowans, Marciann Shapiro
Hair and Makeup Crew: Kiara Escalera, Sarah Tupper
Wardrobe Maintenance Support: Rachel Padula-Shufelt
Electricians: Dillon Brooks, Zachary Connell, Matthew Cost, Casey Cutler, Molly Flanagan, Makenna Harnden, Jemma Kepner, Oakley Walker
Sound Technicians: Em Bonnici, Redacted Maxwell, Madonna McGuire, Devin McGovern, Wesley Pang, Mary White
Properties Artisans: Katherine Fristrom, Cass Gray, Emily Listner, Elsa Ramsay, Dylan Reid, Eric Schapero, Mac Weaver
Properties Production Assistant (NYC): Teshale Nuer
Stage Hands: Toni Kooharian, Janie Hillman, Jack Riter, Cidalia Santos, Kaitlin Smith, Squier, Julia Wonkka

Special Thanks

RoAnn Costin, Ann and Graham Gund, Stephen Greenblatt and Ramie Targoff
Vincent Gerardi, Marlie Kass
Mignone Center for Career Success at Harvard University

Rehearsed at The Public Theater’s Rehearsal Studios, Playwrights Horizons Downtown Rehearsal Studios, and The Huntington Theatre.

Custom set pieces and rental space provided by Arel Studios, NYC.
Automation Equipment provided by Creative Connors.
Additional Lights provided by Christie Lites.
Additional Sound Equipment provided by Sound Associates.
Theatrical Weapons provided by Thomas Schall.

The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

^† Supported by the Paul M. and Harriet L. Weissman Fellows Fund, administered by Harvard University’s Mignone Center for Career Success.

The director, choreographer, and fight consultant of this production are members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.

United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.

Explore

5 Finger Breathing Technique for Kids: As you trace the fingers on your hand, slowly inhale going up the finger and slowly exhale as you go down the finger

Audience Support Resources

We recognize that our productions may unintentionally activate distressing and/or traumatic memories of past experiences in our audience members These resources are curated by Dr. Charmain Jackman through a culturally responsive and trauma-informed lens.

See Resources

Artistic Director’s Welcome

ROMEO AND JULIET

Creative Team

Company & Staff

Cast (in Alphabetical Order)

Terence Archie

Jason Bowen

Sharon Catherine Brown

Bradley Dean

Brandon Dial

Adi Dixit

Kristian Espiritu

Terrence Mann

Abiola Obatolu

Rudy Pankow

Alex Ross

Will Savarese

Bernardo Sequeira†

Adam Shaukat

Clay Singer

Emilia Suárez

Michael Torto†

Nicole Villamil

Understudies

Additional Staff

Access Staff

A.R.T. Staff

Artistic & Engagement

Producing

Marketing & Communications

Development

Facilities

Finance

Patron Services

Production

Scenic

Paint

Stage Operations

Costumes

Wardrobe

Sound

Lighting

Properties

Production Overhire

Special Thanks

The actors and stage managers employed in this production are members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

† Supported by the Paul M. and Harriet L. Weissman Fellows Fund, administered by Harvard University’s Mignone Center for Career Success.

The director, choreographer, and fight consultant of this production are members of the STAGE DIRECTORS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SOCIETY, a national theatrical labor union.

United Scenic Artists represents the designers and scenic painters for the American Theatre.

Explore

Audience Support Resources

Related Events

Member Night

“So shalt thou show me friendship”

A Conversation with Stephen Greenblatt and Ramie Targoff

A Discussion with Dr. Charmain Jackman

Screening of Romeo + Juliet

You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me with These Two

Boards & Donors

Boards

A.R.T. Donors

Bernardo Sequeira^†

Michael Torto^†

^† Supported by the Paul M. and Harriet L. Weissman Fellows Fund, administered by Harvard University’s Mignone Center for Career Success.