Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited - Romeo and Juliet Through the Ages

Romeo and Juliet Through the Ages

03/20/15 • 31 min

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Folger Shakespeare Library: Shakespeare Unlimited

"For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." —ROMEO AND JULIET(5.3.320) Though the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet is a perennial favorite, the world around the play has changed in the four centuries since it was first performed. Shifting attitudes about taboo love and marriage, gender roles, and even guns and street violence inform the way we read or see the play today. Rebecca Sheir, host of our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series, talks with theater scholars and artists about how ROMEO AND JULIET has been cut and molded to fit certain cultural expectations in different time periods. Among those featured in this podcast: - Libby Appel is the former director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. - Joe Calarco is the adaptor and original director of Shakespeare’s R&J. - Linda Charnes is professor of English at Indiana University, Bloomington. - Michael Kahn is artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. - Peggy O'Brien is director of education at Folger Shakespeare Library. - Lindsey Row-Heyveld is assistant professor of English at Luther College in Iowa. - Anne Russell is an associate professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, Canada. ----------------- From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. Written and produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is associate producer. Edited by Esther Ferington and Gail Kern Paster. The music was composed and arranged by Lenny Williams. We had help gathering material for this podcast series from Esther French.

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Music in Shakespeare

"Now, good Cesario, but that piece of song, That old and antique song we heard last night." —Twelfth Night (2.4.3) Rebecca Sheir, host of our Shakespeare Unlimited series, interviews Ross W. Duffin, professor at Case Western University, about musical hints in Shakespeare that have been flying over the heads of most audiences and readers for 400 years. Duffin is the author of the award-winning "Shakespeare's Songbook" (2004), a title that only suggests the book's broader story. Duffin includes the songs performed within Shakespeare's plays—but also those that are not sung, but simply alluded to. Familiar to audiences of the day, these songs' words or phrases added meaning to the plays—long-lost implications and suggestions that his book seeks to restore. ----------------- From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. Written and produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is associate producer. Edited by Esther Ferington and Gail Kern Paster. We had help gathering material for this podcast series from Amy Arden.

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When Romeo Was a Woman

"I will assume thy part in some disguise And tell fair Hero I am Claudio" —MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING(1.1.316) The actress Charlotte Cushman was a theatrical icon in 19th century America, known to the press by her first name, like Beyonce today. Her fame was not, however, for conventionally Victorian feminine portrayals. Cushman specialized in playing male roles, principally Romeo and Hamlet, competing on equal terms with leading actors like Edwin Forrest and Edwin Booth. She was not the only actress of her time to attempt these parts, but Cushman’s style was uniquely assertive and athletic. When Queen Victoria saw Cushman as Romeo, she said she couldn’t believe it was a woman playing the part. Rebecca Sheir, host of the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series, interviews Lisa Merrill, professor in the Department of Performance Studies at Hofstra University and author of "When Romeo Was a Woman," about Cushman’s professional and personal life, including her off-stage romantic partnerships with women and her changing public image after death. ----------------- From the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast series. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. Written and produced for the Folger Shakespeare Library by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is associate producer. Edited by Esther Ferington and Gail Kern Paster. With help from Larry Josephson and Robert Auld.