MADISON, Wis. - s4story -- Madison Shakespeare Company today announced the full details of the kickoff of its third season as a Resident Company of the Bartell Theatre: the best-known play in the English language, Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Despite the play's iconic status, this is the first R&J production in company history, and will mark the first adult presentation of the classic star-crossed lovers on the Bartell stage in over two decades.

Fair Verona, where we lay our scene, turns back the clock 100 years from our present day. The bitter rival Capulets and Montagues compete for territory and trade against the backdrop of Prohibition. Alcohol is forbidden and so is fighting in the streets, but blood and spirits flow when civil authority fails to enforce the law. When young Romeo and Juliet lock eyes at a busy party held by Juliet's father as a peace offering to Romeo's father, his bitter rival Lord Montague, the teens accidentally set off a new cycle of violence that tears both families apart.

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Romeo and Juliet is directed by Grant Borcherding, Teaching Artist with Children's Theater of Madison and a veteran of many of Madison's most prominent stages. Recent credits include The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals (director, InterMission Theatre), The Wolves (assistant director, UW Theatre) and Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson (assistant director, UW Theatre). The production opens Friday November 6 at Madison's Bartell Theatre, just off the Capitol Square. Tickets are available now through the Bartell Theatre box office.

The production features the talents of Dylan Juni and Kyli Nault in the title roles, both appearing for the first time with MSC. MSC veterans Zach Bigelow, Anders Burck, Wyatt Clement, Danielle Bormann Davidson, Josh Gibbons, Echo Joyce, Laura Kochanowski, and Cooper Swanson anchor the ensemble. Joining them are first-time MSC performers Webb Beatty, Lillianna Caldwell, Nicky Chier, Nathan Lipkin, Rosemary Medrano, Sheri Meland, Nate Pilarski, Diane Silvers, and Patrick Stonecipher. R&J is produced by Jason Compton for Madison Shakespeare Company based on a script by Compton and Amber de Petro.

Madison Shakespeare Company has produced engaging and accessible classic theater in south-central Wisconsin since 2012. See https://madisonshakespeare.org for full details.