California Citrus State Historic Park, Full Circle Players, and the Friends of Citrus came together on July 10, 11, and 12 to provide free and fun performances of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and La Mujer Dormida at the park’s amphitheater. Full Circle Players has a mission of Theater for All, making theater accessible and inclusive to people from the entire community, no matter their background or experience. The evening performances were warm and by the end of the third night, the park had welcomed nearly 200 park visitors who had witnessed the shows, giving great reviews of the experience and performance of the cast and crew.
Although Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is well known, the pre-show, La Mujer Dormida, is a modern adaptation written and directed by Steve Llamas, of an Aztec legend. The show deals with generational trauma and expectations on members of a society.
Romeo and Juliet, directed by Wendi Johnson, is full of both pathos and comedy, sword fights and love scenes. Both shows brought the audience to tears and laughter every evening.
– By California State Parks’ Teri Pope, Interpretive Chief at Inland Empire District