A Romeo and Juliet Poster in the Midwest Trust Center. By: Caleb Jeong  

In the upcoming Romeo and Juliet production brought to audiences by the theatre department, lutes are traded in for harmonicas, masked balls for masked hoedowns and knife fights for fist fights in this 1930s Appalachian rendition of this classic Shakespearean play.  

 Romeo and Juliet is set to run at the Bodker Black Box Theatre Sept 18-20 and 25-27. The play begins at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free, but seating is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Directed by Dr. Scott Cox and assistant directed by Georgia Wallace, Romeo and Juliet presents the beloved star-crossed lovers in a new light. Set in Verona, West Virginia, in 1933, where the feuding Montague and Capulet families live, Cox presents what sparked the decision behind the setting.  

 “My reasons for setting the play in central Appalachia during the spring of 1933 are twofold. On one level, I hope that Shakespeare’s language will be more accessible, warm, and humorous in that folksy dialect. The central Appalachian people have a musicality to their speech which we accompany with the folk music traditions of the region. My second reason for the setting is to bring the subjects of this ancient grudge closer to the audience’s present circumstances. While the play is still set nearly 100 years ago and 10 hours away from here and now, the core American circumstance hasn’t changed all that much,” Cox said in his Director’s Note.  

“The Appalachian setting has been a very interesting part of this show,” actress Sage Reedy, who is playing Juliet, said. “Honestly, this aspect makes the show more honest in my opinion.” 

 After the cast list was announced in May, work started immediately.  

“We were given about two months this summer to study and research the script and parts of the Appalachian accent. Meeting up with our voice coach, Scott Stackhouse, and director, Scott Cox, every so often to receive and review more information,” Reedy said. Additionally, presentations were shown to cast and crew on the culture of 1930s Appalachia for further guidance.  

Reedy has been involved in theater for eight years and has a great love for acting. She is currently pursuing a fine arts degree at JCCC.  

According to actress Phoebe Scala, who plays the Nurse, the show is also loosely based on a real-life tiff involving the feuding Hatfield and McCoy families in 19th-century Appalachia that had a Romeo and Juliet plot of their own.  

This production of Romeo and Juliet marks Scala’s transition from stage management to pursuing an acting role for the first time since adolescence.  

“It’s been so different. I do like it though. I gotta be really honest, I didn’t think I would. I thought I would really hate it. I thought I would be like, ‘oh my god, this sucks, and I want to go back to stage managing.’ But I’ve had a blast,” Scala said.  

Layered with Appalachian culture in the form of Southern twang, satire and comedy, and the occasional harmonica-to-banjo bit, viewers can expect a lot of fun.  

“I think our production does a really good job of putting you, the audience member, in the world of the play. It kind of gives the impression you’re just some townsperson in this little town in the Appalachian Mountains, just watching this happen, and I think that’s really cool,” Scala said.  

Support JCCC Theatre by attending a showing of Romeo and Juliet this month.  

 “I hope that the audience appreciates a fresh take on an old classic,” Cox said. “I hope that they feel the sweeping array of emotions and thoughts which Shakespeare intended, as this play is chock full of laughter, tears, tension, whimsy, hope, and sorrow.” 

Visit JCCC Theatre’s Instagram page for more information and updates regarding future productions.