Brando Boniver and Billie Andersson, seen here in Shakespeare Downtown’s 2015 production of “Twelfth Night,” will play the title roles in “Romeo and Juliet” at Castle Clinton in The Battery from June 7–25 — and tickets are free.
BY COLIN MIXSON
This summer, a Downtown theater troupe is bringing Shakespeare to Castle Clinton, The Battery’s historic fortress in the round, treating as many as 3,000 locals to The Bard’s romantic tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet.”
The production will provide 200 free seats per showing at the fort-turned-theater, with the aim of turning the Shakespeare Downtown troupe into more than just a midsummer night’s dream to become a permanent fixture of Lower Manhattan’s cultural scene.
“The hope is that we’ll be able to have a Shakespeare company similar to what they have uptown, but for Lower Manhattan,” said producer and actress Billie Andersson, who will play Juliet opposite Brando Boniver’s Romeo. “That is the intention — to start a Shakespeare theater for Lower Manhattan, like Shakespeare in the Park.”
The cast is composed entirely of past and current students of Andersson’s husband, Shakespeare Downtown co-founder, actor and director Geoffrey Horne, who has taught at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute for 35 years.
Shakespeare Downtown’s past productions, including “Twelfth Night” and “Measure for Measure,” were all held at the venerable film institute near Union Square, and the move to The Battery’s landmarked fortress represents three years of effort on Andersson’s part petitioning City Hall and the National Park Service for permission to perform in the historic stronghold.
“I was walking down the esplanade and saw the castle one night and thought, ‘This would be perfect for doing Shakespeare,’” Andersson said. “I started working on this back when Bloomberg was there — it took that long.”
In addition to offering a fittingly impressive setting weighty with history, the change of venue to the castle also provides for a larger audience, boosting capacity from 99 seats to 200.
“We came because it’s a small theater at the school but this is like the Castle, an open air fort on the water,” said Andersson. “It’s absolutely perfect.”
The show will run Tuesdays through Saturdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., from June 7 to June 25. The free tickets are available on the day of the show at 5 p.m., and must be picked up in person at Castle Clinton.
