Photographs by Rudy Collins
In 1939, Orson Welles produced “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare at the old Lafayette Theater in Harlem. Last week, Rudy Collins photographed The Classical Theatre of Harlem‘s production of Romeo n Juliet in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, New York.
The young lovers, Romeo (Sheldon Best) and Juliet (Natalie Paul), lead the cast, which includes Jamie Rezanour (Nurse), Zainab Jah (Friar/Sister Laurence), Dorcus Sowunmi (Lady Capulet), Jason Delane (Lord Capulet), Jameal Ali (Paris), Emmanuel Brown (Tybalt/Apothecary), Kambi Gathesha (Benvolio), Clark Harris (Montague), Keldrick Crowder (Prince), Ty Jones (Mercutio) and Anthony Lalor (Panther 1/Brother John). Rounding out the ensemble are Levell Franklin, Amara Granderson, Patricia Janvier, Jared Lewis and Djake Souare.
Scenic design is by Anka Lupes, choreography by Lakai Worell (artistic co-director of the Brooklyn dance company Purelements), lighting design by Paul Hudson, sound design by Eric Sluyter, costume design by Rachel Dozier-Ezell, music direction by Chen Lo (of the Brooklyn-based music production company Soul Science Lab) and fight choreography by Emmanuel Brown (recent Obie-Award winner for Kung-Fu).
