Lee Gregory can sum up in a single sentence enough reason to attend Opera Columbus’ production of “Romeo & Juliet”:
“There’s death and love, men in tights and sword fights,” said Gregory, the singer playing Mercutio.
“That’s not something you see every day, and our cast is in pretty darn good shape,” said Jonathan Boyd, the tenor playing Romeo.
Ohio State students could also come to support Robin Rice, a voice teacher at OSU since 1987, in his debut with Opera Columbus as Lord Capulet. He’ll be in tights, too.
Another unique appeal of the show is that Romeo and Juliet are married in real life. They first met on stage in January 2001 as the prince and princess in “Falstaff,” another Shakespeare play. Their first kiss was a stage kiss. They were married the following December and have been playing opposite romantic roles ever since.
This “Romeo & Juliet” show will be the third time they’ve played the leading lovers in Shakespeare’s classic. “It’s a dream to work with my wife,” Boyd said. “It makes it very easy to take it to the highest level of personal experience we can bring and make it very believable on stage.”
And their love scenes might get a little risqu&e.
“There’s a possibility there will be skin shown in this; one never knows. You just have to come and find out,” Boyd said.
Eric Johnston, the tenor playing Tybalt, insists that “Romeo & Juliet” will be “a fun night out. It’s really entertaining.”
Still, when most people hear “opera” they think of powdered wigs and pretentious prima donnas.
“The only thing snobbish about [opera] is that it’s often in a foreign language,” conductor William Boggs said. “Opera is a high-wire act … it’s a big insane circus and that’s what makes it fun.”
In an art form that incorporates almost all forms of art, anything could go wrong at any moment and it’s the risk of such a complex live show that makes it a thrill, he said.
English super titles will be projected above the stage during the performance, but the language shouldn’t be a problem for this show.
“Romeo and Juliet is a story we all know,” Boggs said.
“Even though it’s in French, you know exactly what we’re saying,” Johnston said.
Boggs also assures that, “the opera’s easier than the play: less scenes, less characters and less dialogue.”
“If you’re taking a girl out and having a hard time closing the deal, here’s your chance,” Johnston said. “Here’s the setup: two tickets, take her to the show, take her home and make her dinner. You cannot have a better Valentine’s Day.”
But just because the tickets are cheap doesn’t mean the production is, too.
“Opera’s very expensive … Everything we do is big, so by nature it’s expensive,” Boggs said. Ticket sales for an opera only cover about a third of the cost of a show, he said.
Friends of Opera Columbus is an organization starting a grass roots marketing campaign to help support the opera in a bad economy. Those who become a fan of FOOC on Facebook can use a code word to get 20 percent off the price of tickets that are not already discounted.
Special $10 general admission tickets are available only by calling CAPA at (614) 469-0939.
Student tickets can be purchased for non-prime seats at $15 a piece with a student ID. “Student rush” begins at 10 a.m. the day of the production, at which time any available seat can be bought for $15.
Romeo and Juliet will show at the Ohio Theatre this Friday at 8 p.m. and this Sunday (Valentine’s Day) at 2 p.m. To order tickets call (614) 469-0939 or visit ticketmaster.com. For more information visit operacolumbus.org.
