Romeo & Zooliet
by Jennifer Joan Thompson
Directed by Tom Ridgely
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
July 11, 2025
Ricki Franklin, Jordan Moore
Photo by Theo R. Welling
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival has performed its productions throughout the St. Louis area, including its main stage productions in Forest Park, to its Shakespeare in the Streets shows in specific neighborhoods, to its TourCo shows throughout the region. Now, the Festival is celebrating Shakespeare’s work in a new location–the St. Louis Zoo, with a fun new comedy adapted from one of the Bard’s most well-known tragedies. Romeo & Zooliet, written by Jennifer Joan Thompson and directed by Tom Ridgely, is decidedly more upbeat than its inspiration, and its focus on its location and a menagerie of fantastically crafted animal puppets adds much in the way of entertainment value, as do the lively performances by an enthusiastic and talented cast.
The show makes the most of the Zoo setting with an outdoor amphitheater set up in the middle of the Zoo’s Historic Hill area, featuring Scott C. Neale’s colorful and whimsical set representing a stage labelled “The Glowb” in reference to Shakespeare’s theatre, the Globe, but made by zoo animals who aren’t the best at spelling. The story is essentially a more “family friendly” version of Romeo and Juliet, enacted after hours at the zoo after all the humans have gone home, narrated by Peter the penguin (Ryan Omar Stack, Rae Davis) along with young penguin Penny (Genevieve Mazzoni, Sophia Stogsdill) and cousin Puff (Bryce Cleveland, Rian Page), a puffin. These three watch from the sidelines and reappear to comment at various times throughout the story, which follows the Shakespearean tale in a general sense, but made more upbeat and whimsical. The feuding factions here are Herbivores and Carnivores, with Romeo (Jordan Moore) being a prairie dog looking to find a BFF he can have endless playdates with, after having been rejected by Rosaline, a flamingo. He and his buddy Mercutio the red panda (Jacob Schmidt) end up crashing a “Carnivore Party” held by grizzly bear Lady Capulet (Nisi Sturgis), who is intent on setting up her daughter Juliet (Ricki Franklin) with “apex predator” Paris the alligator (Ryan Omar Stack) as a new Best Friend, but he seems more interested in her as food, and Juliet isn’t so sure she wants to be a carnivore anyway. When she and Romeo meet, of course the sparks fly, and they are determined to be Best Friends Forever. Of course, there are obstacles, and Juliet’s hippopotamus Nurse (Olivia Scicolone) and Friar Lawrence, an owl (Jeff Cummings), try to help while Juliet’s tiger cousin Tybalt (Rae Davis) tries to interfere.
The story basically follows the original plot, with some clever and often hilarious modifications in keeping with the more comic and family friendly tone. I don’t think it’s a spoiler, for instance, to say that nobody dies in this version, but the alternatives are appropriate and add to the overall story and animal characterizations, and still contribute well to the overall moral of putting aside petty quarrels and loving people for who they are.
The portrayals here are marvelous, as well, with Moore’s Romeo given a sweet, lovably emotional characterization and some winning moments including a show-stopping “Shakespeare’s greatest hits” monologue towards the end of the show. Moore’s interactions with Franklin’s lively and likably fierce Juliet are a highlight as well, as are Sturgis’s domineering Lady Capulet, Scicolone’s devoted Nurse, Cummings’ wise but somewhat bumbling Friar Lawrence, and Schmidt’s excellent dual turn as the mischievous Mercutio and slow-moving tortoise Friar John. Stack is also a treat in three roles as Peter the penguin, the sea lion Prince of Zoorona, and the ravenous Paris–who is more interesting here than his usually bland characterization in the original play. Davis makes the most of the role of the belligerent Tybalt, as well, and the child performers are also excellent. It’s a cohesive ensemble that makes the most of all of their roles, and expertly operate their elaborate, remarkably detailed puppets designed and created with impressive flair by Michael Curry Design.
The other technical aspects of the production are also superb, with memorable costumes by Raquel Adorno, mood-enhancing lighting by Jesse Klug, and strong sound design by Stephen Ptacek. There’s also a fun musical score by Jeffrey “JQ” Qaiyum, energetic choreography by Sam Gaitsch, and exciting fight choreography by Zev Steinrock. The outside setting at the Zoo provided an ideal backdrop for the show, as well, with the sounds of real animals sometimes being heard, and the real prairie dog and sea lion habitats nearby, that spectators pass on their way to the performance area.
Having the show outdoors also presents a challenge, considering the sometimes hard to predict St. Louis summer weather, and there was a small stoppage for rain on opening night, but it was handled well, and the audience was treated to a fun rain delay playlist of songs as they waited for the show to resume. There was also a bit of a technical issue with the sound late in the show, but that was also handled especially well by the cast and crew.
The whole spirit of Romeo & Zooliet is one of hope, friendship, and reconciliation, with the whimsical, childlike tone of the story doing well to carry the themes and message of the story. The characters are especially memorable, as well. It’s an immensely entertaining blend of animals, nature, humanity, and the magic of theatre.
Ryan Omar Stack, Nisi Sturgis (on stage), with Set and Audience
Photo by Theo R. Welling
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is presenting Romeo & Zooliet at the St. Louis Zoo until August 17, 2025
Leave a Reply