Grassroots Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

There’s something magical and timeless about William Shakespeare.

Maybe it’s the poetic melody of his verses, or his universal characters, or, as someone once said, “his ability to hold up the mirror to human nature.”

Walking in Draper Park last Saturday evening, we saw a birthday party, a busy children’s playground, and even yoga on the grass.

But when I saw the modest stage placed on the top of wooden barrels and paisley curtains, I knew where to run.

There is a unique alchemy in Shakespeare’s eternal love story, “Romeo and Juliet.”

The Grassroots Shakespeare Traveling Company proved that a timeless play doesn’t need four walls and elaborate costumes. Young actors transported the audience to Verona. The soft guitar substituted for the grandiose orchestra. Blankets and folded chairs replicated the theater seating.

I loved it. I laughed. I applaud. I enjoyed it.

Walking back to our car under a canopy of stars, I remembered that Shakespeare wrote for everyone – for peasants, nobility, dreamers, and cynics.

That evening, he wrote it for me and gave me the purpose to be a better writer, and look for inspiration everywhere.