Romeo and Juliet Never Grow Old
"Romeo and Juliet", Shakespeare's tragic drama of star-crossed lovers, is rediscovered and reinvented by each generation. The latest film version, coming to theaters this October, stars Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) and Douglas Booth ("Worried About the Boy") with a screenplay by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey).
MSU's Theatre and Dance Department will perform the play Nov. 21-24, 2013, in Craig Hall Coger Theatre.
The plot was not original with Shakespeare. He based his play on The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke which was derived from earlier Italian sources. Dante even mentions the feuding Montagues and Capulets in his Divine Comedy.
Here are some versions in the Library's collection.
BOOKS:
- The original play from several publishers: Barron's (incl. modern translation), Modern Library, and Penguin.
- Shakespeare's complete works: Gramercy, Gramercy (illustrated), Modern Library, and Oxford
- Adaptations are available as a prose retelling, teen comic, and children's comic.
- Fiction inspired by the play
DVDs:
- Romeo & Juliet (1968) Franco Zefferelli production starring Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting
- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) starring Claire Danes and Leonardo di Caprio
- Romeo & Juliet or 2 (2001) BBC-Time/LIfe television starring Rebecca Saire and Patrick Ryecart
ADAPTATIONS, ETC., ON DVD:
- West Side Story (widescreen), (fullscreen), or (special edition) (1961) starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer
- Gnomeo & Juliet -- one for the kids
- Letters to Juliet -- based on the book of the same title
- Romeo & Juliet Get Married (in Portugese with English subtitles) Brazilian soccer instead of Italian swordfights
- Shakespeare the Animated Tales. Volume 3 -- R&J, "Othello", and "The Winter's Tale"
- Shakespeare in Love -- the story behind the writing of the play?
- Romeo and Juliet -- the Prokofiev ballet performed by the Royal Ballet featuring Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn
AUDIOBOOK CDs:
- Romeo and Juliet -- starring Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale
- William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet -- starring Joseph Fiennes and Maria Miles
MUSIC CDs:
- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (soundtrack of 1996 film)
- "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" on Best of Tchaikovsky and Tchaikovsky Symphonies
- Excerpts from Berlioz's dramatic symphony or Gounod's opera
- West Side Story : the New Broadway Cast Recording (2009 revival)
- Sensual Classics II contains excerpts from Prokofiev's ballet, Tchaikovsky's overture, and "Maria" from West Side Story.
DIGITAL:
- Hoopla, the Library's new digital resource, has many music and audiobook versions. Try searching for Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliette, or Romeo and a composer: Berlioz, Gounod, Prokofiev, or Tchaikovsky.
- Overdrive, the Library's collection of downloadable e-books has editions in its always-available Public Domain Collection, including some in other languages.
CRITICISM AND INTERPRETATION:
- Readings about the play edited by Bloom, Nardo, and Thrasher
- Shakespeare: The Seven Major Tragedies / Harold Bloom [Audiobook-CD]
- William Shakespeare, Part 2 of 3: Comedies, Histories, Tragedies / Peter Saccio [DVD] or [Audiobook-CD]
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