‘Masque of Night’ pairs ‘Romeo and Juliet’ story with live music
“The Masque of Night” is guaranteed to be unlike any version of “Romeo and Juliet” you’ve seen before.
New Place Players’ one-hour, cabaret-style performance of the timeless tragedy will be presented by Rubber City Theatre for the next two weekends at the University of Akron’s Sandefur Theatre. The touring show, created through the vision of co-director Craig Bacon and music director Flavio Gaete of New York’s New Place Players, will run for six performances Friday through Sept. 29 in Akron and also will be performed Oct. 3 at Gervasi’s pavilion in Canton.
The goal of the show is to reimagine the Bard’s words through a contemporary lens, immersing audiences in the star-crossed lovers’ iconic story by blending Shakespearean text with live classical and contemporary music, the latter including tunes by David Bowie, Depeche Mode and Rufus Wainwright.
The classical score is composed by actor-musician Gaeto, who plays guitar, piano and viola and portrays Benvolio, Mercutio, Friar Lawrence, the Prince and Balthasar in “The Masque of Night.” His rich soundscape elevates the whole experience, said Leah Michalos, a Canton native and University of Akron professor who’s executive producer for the new work.
“Music isn’t just a backdrop. It’s an integral part of the storytelling,” she said. “It makes Shakespeare feel more immediate and alive.”
Audience sizes are small for an intimate experience. Leading the fourperson cast are British actor Maximilian Macdonald as Romeo and Clara
Tristan as Juliet. Anna Bikales also plays harp and portrays the Nurse and Benvolio.
“It’s for anyone looking for a fresh, engaging theatrical experience. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a Shakespeare enthusiast or someone new to his work, the show offers a chance to see a familiar story in a new light,” Michalos said.
Akron’s performances of “The Masque of Night” are the first outside of the New York area for New Place Players, which focuses on performing Shakespearean works in innovative ways in new places. “Masque” premiered in New York this year in Gramercy Park at both The Players and Casa Clara, a former sculpture foundry. That was followed by performances in Hopewell, New Jersey.
More about Canton native Leah Michalos
Broadway producer Michalos, an assistant professor of theater at UA, where
she’s in her third year teaching, is the tie who brought New Place Players to Akron. She’s also area chair of UA’s arts administration graduate program.
Michalos began working with New Place in 2022 through her company Michalos Management, which focuses on the theatrical and entertainment industry. She had been based in New York since 2007 and moved back to Canton with her wife, Allison, in 2020 to be closer to family.
The 2001 GlenOak High School graduate was lead producer for the 2021 Broadway comedy “Chicken & Biscuits.” Her Off-Broadway credits include serving as a lead producer for “The Orchard” in 2022, an adaptation of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” that starred Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jessica Hecht at Baryshnikov Arts Center. It went on to a run of hybrid performances in Boston that included live, virtual, interactive access worldwide, with UA serving as a co-presenter for the virtual production.
“It was wildly fascinating and exciting,” said Michalos, whose UA graduate students worked on UA’s co-presenting role.
Mounting ‘Masque of Night’ in Akron
The “Masque of Night” cast and creative team arrived Sunday in Akron and will stay for several weeks. In addition to performing the show, various members of the company plan to do workshops with music and dance students while they’re on the ground at UA. The New York company also plans to continue developing its own work in rehearsal.
Three arts administration master’s students also are taking on important roles as general managers for “The Masque of Night.” They are Gregory Hoffmeister, Sarah Saddleton and Nova Stewart.
“It highlights real-world experience, so they’re serving as general managers, essentially, for the show. And it gives them the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge directly to a live production,” Michalos said of the hands-on theater work.
That includes key roles in operations, company management and press and marketing, such as handling contracts and travel arrangements and serving as production coordinators.
Michalos said she’s enjoyed collaborating with Dane Leasure, Rubber City artistic director, and New Place Players co-directors Bacon and Janina Picard of Germany, whose “imaginative approach ... challenges audiences to think and feel deeply.”
The play’s “The Masque of Night” title has a poetic double meaning that evokes both Juliet’s words to Romeo and the word “masque” as a celebration. In the balcony scene, she tells Romeo:
“We are turning it into masque, which is the word for a celebration performance of music and poetry in Elizabethan England often created for weddings and royal affairs. So ours is a “Masque” to celebrate the essence of Romeo and Juliet, with a play on words from the balcony scene,” co-director Bacon said by text.
This mobile production of “The Masque of Night” may be just the beginning for collaborations among Rubber City Theatre UA and various theatrical companies, producer Michalos said.
“I think Akron in general, with its blend of history and its hunger for innovation, it’s the perfect place to develop and produce new work like this. There’s a spirit here that’s open to new ideas and I think it’s exciting to be a part of that,” she said.
Michalos and her wife, who bought and renovated a home in Canton, had planned to live in Northeast Ohio for a year. But Michalos, who’s realized that you don’t always need to be in New York to create work, said they’ve decided to stay in her hometown with their 11month-old daughter.
“Northeast Ohio, it has an amazing arts and culture scene. The possibilities are really endless here,” she said.
Details
Play: “The Masque of Night”
When and where: Friday through Sept. 29 at Rubber City Theatre, 228 E. Buchtel Ave., the University of Akron. Shows 7:30 pm. Fridays-Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays.
Also 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Gervasi Vineyard covered pavilion, preceded by 6 p.m. dessert reception,1700 55th St. NE, Canton
Onstage: Clara Tristan, Maximilian Macdonald, Flavio Gaete, Anna Bikales
Offstage: Craig Bacon and Janina Picard, directors; Flavio Gaete, musical director; Leah Michalos, executive producer; New Place Players, producers; Rubber City Theatre, presenter; UA arts administration graduate students Gregory Hoffmeister, Sarah Saddleton, Nova Swewart, general management
Cost: $40 for Akron performances, plus some pay-what-you can seating options. $50 Oct. 3 for Gervasi, which includes a dessert trio and wine
Reservations: ci.ovationtix.com/34890/production/1209156 for Akron
gervasivineyard.com/product/themasque-of-night for Canton