Revisiting the Bard: Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare Event
By Beverly Friend
Chicago theater critics will open and close this summer’s Third Annual Shakespeare Festival at Oakton Community College, 7701 Lincoln Ave, Skokie. Richard Christiansen, “dean” of Chicago arts critics, will keynote the festivities on Monday July 17, and Lucia Mauro will provide the August 13 wrap up, speaking on star-crossed lovers.
As with their previous festival subjects, King Lear and Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet is another tale of family relationships and the demands of filial obligations. Highlights of the program, which will cover 13 sessions over three weeks, include a staged reading and provocative presentations, from “Shakespeare’s Women: from Juliet to Cordelia” to “Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo.” Speakers will examine interpretations by such diverse film directors as George Cukor, Baz Luhrman, and Franco Zeffirelli, as well as works inspired by the play, from the artistry and music of Gounod’s opera and Prokofiev’s ballet, to Leonard Bernstein’s West Side story and Peter Ustinov’s Romanoff and Juliet are Dead.
The Fee Is $65 For The Entire Romeo And Juliet Series. $15 per Individual Lecture.
Call 847-635-1414 For Further Information, Or To Register.
Detailed Schedule:
• Monday, 7/27, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Film and Discussion: Cukor’s Romeo And Juliet (1936)
• Monday, 7/27, 2-3:30 p.m. – Richard Christiansen On “Romeo And Juliet”
• Tuesday, 7/28, 1-4 p.m. – Film And Discussion: Zeffirelli’s Romeo And Juliet (1968)
• Wednesday, 7/29, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 P.m. – Film and Discussion Luhrmann’s Romeo And Juliet (1997)
• Thursday, 7/30, 2-3:30 p.m. – Film And Discussion; Romeo And Juliet In Sarajevo
• Monday, 8/3, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. – Who are Pyramus and Thisbe and What are They Doing in This Festival?
• Tuesday, 8/4, 3-6 P.m. – Film and Discussion; West Side Story:
• Wednesday, 8/5, 1-4 p.m. – Where Next, Mr. Shakespeare?
• Thursday, 8/6, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – A Play Reading Of Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet
• Thursday, 8/6, 2-3:30 p.m. – Shakespeare’s Strong Women:
• Monday, 8/10, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Film and Discussion; Romeo Et Juliette – The Opera
• Tuesday, 8/11, 1-4 p.m. Film and Discussion; Romeo And Juliet – The Ballet:
• Thursday, 8/13, 1-2:30 p.m. The World’s Eternal Fascination With Shakespeare’s Star-Crossed Lovers