Coming up in Philly theater: The Wilma Theater reconsiders Shakespeare

Blanka Zizka knows her way around Shakespeare. The longtime Wilma Theater artistic director has staged Macbeth and Hamlet in recent seasons, opportunities that left her hungry to tackle more of the Bard’s canon. She gets her wish when the Wilma produces Romeo and Juliet at its Broad Street complex, running from January 15 through February 3.

Shakespeare may seem a stretch for the Wilma, long known for its partnerships with contemporary playwrights like Tom Stoppard, Paula Vogel, Sarah Ruhl, and the late Vaclav Havel. But Zizka sees both timelessness and prescience in his work. “I think of Shakespeare as a radically experimental writer,” she tells Broad Street Review. “In his plays, he reaches for deep emotions, reveals complex thoughts, finds exquisite metaphors, and experiments with form.”

The Wilma’s production will similarly experiment with form. Production materials trumpet a modern approach — no tights! no balcony! — and Zizka is primarily interested in drawing parallels between the play’s 15th-century setting and our current world.

“The divided city [of Verona] and the family feud have reverberated for me with the steep divisions and identity politics we are experiencing in our country,” Zizka says. “Romeo and Juliet also come from rich families, and the transactional world of Verona resonates with our current value system, where most things in life are valued by their price. Juliet and Romeo’s love challenges the status quo.”

Zizka – whose Hamlet featured a female actor, Zainab Jah, in the title role — was also drawn to Romeo and Juliet because of its strong heroine, whom she describes as “a seeker and a rebel against the confines of a world in which a woman is considered a mere possession.”

The production is the latest offering from the Wilma HotHouse, a standing company of 14 local actors who receive year-round training under the Wilma’s auspices. Matteo Scammell and Taysha Marie Canales, recipient of the 2018 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Philadelphia Artist, portray the titular star-crossed lovers — both are HotHouse members, as are eight of the 10 actors in the cast.

“I can’t imagine doing a project like this without the HotHouse,” Zizka says. “We share a vocabulary and have a hard-earned trust in each other, which has made the actors comfortable with experimenting and taking risks, knowing that we’re all supporting one another.”

Zizka’s Romeo and Juliet will also feature a strong musical component, building on the lyricism of Shakespeare’s verse. Anthony Martinez-Briggs, who plays Mercutio, is a member of the local hip-hop collective ILL DOOTS; Zizka has encouraged him to update and contemporize some of his character’s language, while still remaining faithful to Shakespeare’s intent. Philly-based singer-songwriter Gracie Martin has also contributed original songs to the adaptation, which she will perform live.

The production will largely leave Romeo and Juliet’s language untouched, because “their poetry is an integral part of their revolt,” according to Zizka. But considering the play from a fresh perspective has been crucial to her process. “I always approach Shakespeare’s texts as if they were new plays, examining them carefully to find new things that have been glossed over by routine and conventional staging,” she says.

This Romeo and Juliet promises to be anything but routine and conventional. Aren’t you glad?

The Wilma Theater presents Romeo and Juliet from January 15 through February 3, 2019, at its complex at 265 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia. Tickets ($10-48) can be purchased at wilmatheater.org or by calling (215) 546-7824.