Sitting in USI’s intimate theater surrounding a small stage, I prepared to watch the show which I’d heard countless murmurs about for the past couple of weeks. The lights dimmed, the bells rang and I was instantly pulled into the lives of four very engaging boarding school boys.

“Romeo and Juliet” is a timeless love story. It has captivated audiences for generations with its dramatic tale of two star crossed lovers who are forbidden to be together.

Its popularity is due primarily to the fact that forbidden love is a concept which transcends place and time. For centuries, obstacles have prevented otherwise perfectly compatible people from engaging in relationships.

In the play “R & J” written by Joe Calarco, the central obstacle which the characters face is transformed from Shakespeare’s opposing families to the new age issue of sexual preference.

For two hours and fifteen minutes, I was immersed in an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that our parents would never have imagined.

I watched as four boys looking for a break from their strict mundane schedule stumbled upon a tattered copy of Romeo and Juliet.

In their boarding school attic the quartet decided to re-enact Shakespeare’s epic play.

With very few props besides a multi-purpose red cloth and a nifty preppy wardrobe the foursome transformed their tiny stage into the city of Verona.

The boys played by Patrick Litteken, Craig Patterson, Kaleb Sullivan and Julian Velasquez took the audience on a journey of self discovery through beautifully written versus and underlying messages.

While the boys took on the various roles of Shakespeare’s ageless play, they came to grips with their own feelings for one another.

Craig Patterson, who played Romeo, did a wonderful job of conveying the forbidden relationship which began to emerge between his character and Juliet who was played by Kaleb Sullivan.

The duo shared multiple intimate moments on stage which transferred from the re-enactment of the play to the school boy’s actual feelings.

The intimacy was not blatantly presented with lines. It was portrayed more in the characters actions towards one another.

“R & J” used the other two school boys to show the social aversion to intimacy between individuals of the same sex.

The characters showed their distaste through some sped up scenes and attempts at omitting scenes all together.

Aside from the underlying theme of homosexuality, the play stayed true to the classical essence of Shakespeare’s lines.

The school boys depicted the entirety of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” in a playful yet serious manner.

Julian Velasquez was a powerful Mercutio commanding the stage with his presence and Patrick Litteken brought a humorous side to the Nurse.

After the completion of the final scene the bells rang, the lights dimmed, and I was brought back to reality with a few things to think about.

While I felt that some of the issues represented in the play could have been conveyed on a deeper level, I have to admit that I was thoroughly engaged.

It was a great reminder that love itself has no boundaries, and we shouldn’t try to enforce any on it.