Directed by Aleta Chappelle / 110 min.
Harry Lennix and Director Aleta Chapelle are scheduled to attend and participate in a Q&A after the screening.
Starring Harry Lennix, Aunjanu, and Erica Gimpel, ROMEO AND JULIET IN HARLEM is the modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s most beloved play “Romeo and Juliet” with New York’s Harlem as it’s backdrop. Staying true to the original storyline and Shakespeare's poetic text, audiences will be allowed to identify with the characters on a more personal level, unlike other adaptations which place the story in abstract environments or time periods. Shakespeare’s words come alive in 2014, surrounded by the vibrancy of Harlem's historic Brownstone neighborhoods, basketball courts, subways, Central Park’s Shakespeare Garden and during New York’s massive West Indian Day Parade.
To reflect the diversity of the film's location, Juliet is African American and Romeo is Hispanic. In addition, more then ten different nationalities are represented in the cast, making this film the first Shakespeare film adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" with a complete cast of color.
Harlem is known as a successful melting pot, however conflicts still exist among some of it's residences. This “hatred of differences” is what fuels the feud between the Capulet’s and Montague’s. Turning the sweet and tender love story of “Juliet and her Romeo” into a tragedy.
Presented in collaboration with Hattiloo Theatre.
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