This Friday and Saturday night at the Reynolds Theater, in the Bryan Center, the Classical Theatre of Harlem will be performing Shakespeare's masterpiece of young love and romance, Romeo and Juliet.
"Other than being set in Harlem in 2007, everything else will be the same, including the language," director Christopher McElroen said.
The thought of watching a Shakespearean play through the lens of modern Harlem dispels those images of actors, wearing tights, mournfully soliloquizing to the skull resting in their hands. The Classical Theatre of Harlem's interpretation will likely be lively and dynamic, as it is meant to capture the minds of the modern generation. If the performance lives up to its potential, then it will be the best of both worlds.
McElroen added that the Theatre's mission is cultural complementation, not transplantation.
"It's a classic, an icon, that needs revisiting, not revision," he said.
Founded in 1999 by McElroen and Alfred Preisser, the Classical Theatre of Harlem has brought more then 30 classic plays by William Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, Euripides and others back to a neighborhood that, until recently, was marked by severe poverty.
"Our idea is to be the next great theater company," McElroen said. "We are dedicated to returning the classics to the stages of Harlem."
Once the site of a 17th century Dutch settlement, Harlem has since undergone several cultural rebirths, the most notable of which is the Harlem Renaissance of the '20s and '30s. Since then, however, Harlem has lost a good deal of its artistic clout.
In an effort to build upon the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, the Classical Theatre operates as a non-profit organization focused on revitalizing the culture of Harlem.
"We have the youngest, most diverse audience in town. Because of that diversity, [the audience] truly represents New York. It's exciting to have that impact," he said.
By performing outside of Harlem, the Classical Theatre also helps to spread awareness of Harlem's thriving community of artists.
"Our brand of theater is unique. We want to showcase our work at places like Duke, show the strong artistic activity of Harlem to people who may not know about it," McElroen said.
Besides time-honored classic works, the Classical Theatre takes on more recently written plays and musicals as well. Last week the Theatre came to Duke to perform Melvin Van Peebles' Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, written in 1971.
The Classical Theatre of Harlem will be performing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Nov. 9 and 10 at 8 p.m. in Reynolds Theater.
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