Isaac Hickox-Young as Romeo and Billie Wyatt as Juliet. Photo by Shelley Kusnetz
Set in a time of deadly civil division, Shakespeare's masterful tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, continues to hold up a heartbreaking mirror to our world. In a society ravaged by hate and violence, two young people unexpectedly find love. Isaac Hickox-Young and Billie Wyatt play the fateful couple in Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's production. Directed by Artistic Director Emerita Bonnie J. Monte, the production runs from September 10 through October 5, 2025.
The cast includes Christopher Atchison (Benvolio), Celeste Ciulla (Lady Montague/Nurse), Dino Curia (Paris/Gregory), Edward Furs (Prince Escalus/Chorus), Robert S. Gregory (Lord Montague/Friar John), Nicole Lawrie (Balthasar/Rosaline), Anthony Marble (Lord Capulet), Quentin McCuiston (Mercutio/Watch), Ryan N. Murray (Abraham/Peter), Triever Sherwood (Tybalt/Watch), Raphael Nash Thompson (Friar Laurence), Aurea Tomseki (Lady Capulet), and Godswill Utionkpan (Sampson/Apothecary/Watch).
New Jersey Stage reached out to Isaac and Billie to find out what it's like to return to roles they've played several years ago, chemistry between the two, and if they feel any pressure in portraying two of the most legendary characters in the theatre history.
Did you play the roles of Romeo and Juliet in the production years ago? If not, which characters did you play? Describe that experience.
Billie: We have played the roles of Romeo and Juliet before, and actually together. In 2019 Isaac and I played these two remarkable characters in The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's Shakespeare LIVE! production. Shakespeare LIVE! is an educational touring company that travels to schools in the New Jersey area, as well as New York, Pennsylvania, and sometimes as far north as Maine. It was wonderful performing Romeo and Juliet to audiences as young as elementary school age, because for many that was their first time ever seeing Shakespeare or a show of any kind. It is also one of the closest possible experiences a modern actor can have to one of Shakespeare's original company of actors. Most adults know the story of Romeo and Juliet so reactions are quite varied, but children that young often have no idea what to expect. And it is a magical experience to feel like you are telling this famous story for the very first time. So it was a very powerful experience and one that truly shaped me as an actor and even increased my previous love for the story and these two characters.
You have built-in chemistry with each other. How important is it to have that chemistry between the two lovers? Will you pull from your own relationship, off-stage?
Billie: Chemistry between actors who are playing opposites is quite important to the production, but it can also mean a million different things. It is something that is carefully and specifically crafted by the two actors, the director, and greatly informed by the world of the play. Our production is no different in the sense that Isaac and I are taking in the information we give to each other as the characters and from Bonnie to sculpt these two humans in a way that best serves the story. Our production is obviously special in the way that Isaac and I have found each other in real life, and in some ways, through the lenses of these characters. Thankfully we have had a much happier ending than the poor lovers. But, we are not them and they are not us. They are two separate people from us. They have similarities to us at times, as I think many will find they have similarities to everyone. But, the play is about them and not about us. However, this is such an inspiring and rare opportunity to come to this story with completely different lenses, in a completely different world, to rediscover these two young people once again. And doing it alongside one of your favorite people in the world (and one of the greatest actors you have ever worked with) is an obvious bonus. Anyone that gets to work with an actor like Isaac is incredibly lucky and I'm just honored to be one of them.
You've worked with director Bonnie J. Monte a few times before. Does it help to have that level of comfort with a director? If so, how?
Billie: Isaac and I have had the privilege of working with Bonnie many times, and the honor of getting to know her as a friend. She's quite an extraordinary person. We weathered the pandemic with her and have done a range of projects, all of different authors and types, and she values the thing that I personally always strive for as an artist, which is to find the humanity in each character and moment onstage. And every director is different and speaks a slightly different language, so to already understand Bonnie's while working on a play with such innate vulnerability in the love and hatred is a gift. We have been able to dig deeper faster and attack the ugliest, roughest parts of the story, while digging just as deep (if not deeper) to mine the joy and love as well. And we three share an immense amount of passion for these two characters and the universality of this play. Bonnie has been a massive part of both Isaac and I's artistic journey's and to do this play with her is a very, very meaningful experience for us.
In your opinion, what is it about Romeo and Juliet that makes it such a perennial favorite after hundreds of years?
Isaac: There are lots reasons; the spectacular poetry, the fan-favorite characters (Mercutio, for many), the very relatable experience of young love, the hopefully not so relatable but equally compelling sword fights to the death, but I would argue that what keeps readers and audiences coming back is that like the Orpheus story, in the watching or reading of it you find yourself wishing until the last moment that this time the story will turn out differently, this time they'll make it. Of course they don't, and our hearts are broken all over again. An outside observer might call such an experience unpleasant, but take one look at what stories, books, plays, movies, etc., have stood the test of time, and the tremendous impact of (and appetite for) the re-telling of tragedy is clear.
Billie: I think aside from it being absolutely brilliant, which it is, it's a favorite because it's real. The humanity of this play screams at you every second. Love and hatred are such an immediate part of our daily lives right now, and have been for hundreds of years, that to have a play that speaks to all of those parts of us is indescribable. And the play ages with you in a way you don't expect. I've been aware of the play in some way since middle school and everytime I come back to it, it is new and different, but always true and always relevant.
Is it daunting to be performing as one of the legendary characters in theatre history? An honor?
Billie: Yes. It is absolutely daunting and an honor. Juliet is such a beloved character and has so many beautiful layers to her that playing her always makes one feel unworthy because of how much of a giant she is and how unbelievably good the language is. And it is an honor for many reasons, but there are two big ones for me personally. One being, you have this play with a massive feud and violence wrecking this town and in the center of it there's this girl. This incredibly intelligent, strong willed, brave, young girl who courageously tries to change her situation. She decides not to fall victim to the system of societal hatred she is born into, and is brave enough to choose love and do her best to liberate herself. She chooses courage. And it is an honor to play a young woman like that. The second reason it's an honor, is the other Juliets. Thousands of people have played Juliet before me. Thousands of people will play Juliet after I do. And to be that connected to those before you and those after you simply because of a play, because of art, is so special to me. I believe it speaks again, to the universality of this play. Art is meant to connect and reflect and I am honored beyond all measure to have been one of the Juliets.
Isaac: It certainly is daunting, especially given the fact that the play contains some of the most famous passages in all of Shakespeare. That said, the double-edged bonus of that is the tremendous privilege (and honor, as you say) that comes with getting to inhabit these characters and speak these words. The most frequent note you'll hear our director Bonnie J. Monte give an actor working on Shakespeare is simply to speak the lines just as you would in real life, so it becomes a game of not necessarily ignoring the poetry and weight of these often very famous lines, but simply thinking of yourself as a human being in that circumstance and delivering the text as though it's being spoken for the very first time.
You both seem to have found a home at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. What does it mean to you to be part of that family and to have a stage you're very familiar with?
Billie: I have been very fortunate to have found a home at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. I have been given incredible opportunities to grow as an artist by way of a wide range of characters and plays. I would not be the artist I am without this theatre giving me the space to be educated simply by doing the work, working on different playwrights, and with many different directors. It means the world to perform in a physical space itself that you have grown in, and I think it is particularly special for this piece. Juliet has grown up in this specific place, her family is there, this place is where she finds love. That is what The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has been for me. I have grown here, I have found family here, I found my love here. It is a special place. And I can't think of anywhere better to be playing Juliet.
Isaac: It's incredibly special to be a part of that "family", as you put it, here at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. We're just one example of truly hundreds of couples who have met their partners here over the years, and the culture of community inside the Company generally, and specifically the Acting Company is something we feel truly lucky to be included in. It's a longer story than we have time for now, but Billie and I were part of the cohort of actors that The Shakespeare Theatre sheltered during the pandemic. Essentially what was going to be a 5-month Educational Tour turned into almost 3 years in residency with the theatre. Even after schools closed, they provided us with housing and work, not just behind the scenes doing things like painting and organizing prop storage, but building an outdoor stage behind our offices in Florham Park, and we became one of the first groups of actors to perform in any form during the pandemic. I always say no person working in theatre got luckier than we did, and I truly mean that. So it's all the more special, almost a decade since we first became Company Members, to play these iconic roles again on a stage we're indeed very familiar with, with a director who has become a truly invaluable friend and artistic mentor. No pressure right?
Performances run from September 10 to October 5, 2025 in the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre (36 Madison Avenue) in Madison, New Jersey. Tickets are available for purchase online.
