Orlando Bloom, modern Romeo
Orlando Bloom and Tony nominee Condola Rashad will star in a Broadway production of “Romeo and Juliet” that transports Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers to modern times with race as a central theme.
David Leveaux will direct the production, featuring Jayne Houdyshell (“Follies”) as the nurse and Joe Morton (the musical “Raisin”) as Lord Capulet, with additional casting to be announced. Leveaux recently directed “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson Theatre, a musical about the Beatles’ formative period playing in German nightclubs.
The script will retain the Bard’s original language, with the feuding Capulets and Montagues recast as differing ethnicities.
The show, opening Sept. 19, will mark Bloom’s Broadway debut. dead Monday inside a sport utility vehicle belonging to his family that was found partially submerged in a deep mud pit about a mile from his home near Sissonville, W.Va., authorities said. Also inside were the bodies of his uncle and another man.
Kanawha County Sheriff ’s Cpl. B.D. Humphreys said the red-and-white 1984 Ford Bronco’s muffler was below the surface and that mud covered the passenger side. No foul play is suspected.
Shain, 21, nicknamed “Gandee Candy” by fans, was a breakout star of the show that followed the antics of a group of young friends enjoying their wild country lifestyle. It was filmed last year, mostly around Sissonville and Charleston.
Many of its rowdy exploits were his idea. In one episode, he turned a dump truck into a swimming pool.
Shooting for the second season of “Buckwild” had begun, but MTV spokesman Jake Urbanski said Monday afternoon it has been suspended.
MTV said the half-hour series in the old “Jersey Shore” time slot was pulling in an average of 3 million viewers per episode since its premiere and was the No. 1 original cable series on Thursday nights among 12to 34-year-olds.