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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn the directors seat is guest director and distinguished McMurry Alumni \u201823, Graci Melbourne. In Graci\u2019s time at McMurry she wrote her show \u201cSugar\u201d performed in the Ryan Arts building, and published her two act honors thesis, \u201cWherefore\u201d, based on Shakespearean drama. She summarizes, \u201cMy thesis, WHEREFORE, a full-length play, follows Shakespeare\u2019s most notable characters (Romeo, Juliet, Iago, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Lady Macbeth) as they challenge the archetypes they\u2019ve been forced into. Through multiple, interactive theatre games, roles are rewritten and the popular adage, \u201cTo define is to limit,\u201d is proven true.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melbourne believes Shakespeare can be enjoyed by everyone from all walks of life, stating, \u201cI love Shakespeare because it was, in its creation, entertainment for the people. Regular people. Hard-working, middle-lower class people. It was rowdy and subversive, an art originally supported by those who needed to get away from the grind and toil of their daily lives.\u201d She explains, \u201cThrough the years, Shakespeare\u2019s works have been sanitized. Royalty got hold of it and, suddenly, its reputation as art for the Everyman was scrubbed clean. It\u2019s gone down in history as inaccessible, catered only to academics and scholars, when, truthfully, that is the antithesis of its messaging. Shakespeare tells stories about rebels and outcasts, those who flew in the face of the status quo to pursue their own desires. It was thrilling and, at times, quite raunchy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She continues, \u201cHow exciting, to be able to expose people to the fact that these feelings and themes have always been (and always will be) relevant to the broader human experience. As tragic as the show may end, Romeo and Juliet has proven itself to be a hearty, dynamic coming-of-age story that addresses division, hate, and the dangers of ignoring and dismissing the thoughts of young people. It truly encapsulates the many highs-and-lows of\u00a0teenagedom\u00a0and, although it ends in blood, it reinforces the message: ‘The only thing stronger than hate is love.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cast seems equally as excited about the story with Ian Chatman as Romeo of house Montague. Following his lead as Victor Fleming in Moonlight and Magnolia’s last semester, and performance as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express at Western Texas College, he joins us as the original hopeless romantic himself. \u201cI would say I am extremely excited to play Romeo and really look forward to the chemistry\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0getting to build with my fellow cast mates. This is definitely one of my highlight roles in college;\u00a0however\u00a0this is my first time performing Shakespeare in any\u00a0form\u00a0so I\u2019ve been really enjoying the process. I have always been a fan of\u00a0Shakespeare\u00a0so what better show to start with than a classic like Romeo and Juliet!\u201d Chatman said when asked about his role and experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romeo is advised by the kind and clever Will Anderson as Friar Lawrence who may prove critical in the fates of the\u00a0Star-Crossed\u00a0lovers. \u201cI\u2019m\u00a0excited to play such a smart character with such a wide range of emotions. My most recent role was another Shakespearean classic, Julius Caesar, and I loved it. I really love Shakespeare actually, and Romeo and Juliet\u00a0is\u00a0one of my favorites.\u00a0I’m\u00a0sure this is going to be one of my favorite roles ever and\u00a0I’m\u00a0already looking forward to performing!\u201d Stated Anderson, on his latest go-round performing Shakespeare\u2019s dialogue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mia McKean is Juliet of house Capulet, standing across from Romeo and the Montagues because of the eternal feud between their families. When asked about performing such an iconic role on top of her previous experience McKean said \u201cI\u2019m excited to grow as an actor through performing Shakespeare\u2019s work. I was in every production last year and had my first lead role in college during Gruesome Playground Injuries last year.\u201d She elaborates, \u201cRomeo and Juliet is just so iconic that I can\u2019t wait to bring my own spin to Juliet and bring her to our stage in the Ryan building.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standing center of the feud Lauren Scott plays an overseer of this not-so-fair Verona, Mercutio. Scott has played many roles at McMurry even before she enrolled as a student such as Roxie Hart in Chicago, Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Mary Warren in the Crucible, Antigone in Antigone, and Ronette in Little Shop of Horrors to name a few. \u201cI\u2019m so excited to discover the nuances of my character. Mercutio definitely provides a comedic break for the audience, but his feelings and motivations are complex. I am looking forward to learning the words of Shakespeare and being able to convey every feeling and emotion Mercutio should encounter with full accountability and truth! I\u2019m also really excited to sword fight!\u201d Said Scott, when asked about performing Mercutio. \u201cThis will be my first Shakespeare show and I am so ready for the challenge!\u201d She stated further on performing Shakespeare in particular. \u201cI am very excited to take this classic show and establish a grungy twist. We are leaning heavily into the 90s grunge aesthetic which will present audiences a unique perspective. It has already been so fun working on the marketing for this production and I hope the new spin has enticed the community to see what we have to offer!\u201d She states lastly about the stylistic twist this production is taking on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For updates on both Romeo and Juliet and \u201cWE HATE SHAKESPEARE\u201d follow @mcmtheatre on Instagram for the most up to date information. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the 26th of February McMurry Theatre debuts a Shakespearean Classic, the tale of the\u00a0Star-Crossed\u00a0Lovers,\u00a0Romeo\u00a0and Juliet with a contemporary change of scenery. Instead of the traditional battlements and bastions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":1499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-47","clearfix"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/R-and-J-mckinney-article.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1498"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1506,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498\/revisions\/1506"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mcm.edu\/herald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}