Classic Stage Company announced on Wednesday that Julian Cihi, a recent graduate of Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, will play Romeo in its upcoming production of “Romeo and Juliet.â€Â As previously announced, Elizabeth Olsen will be his Juliet.
Finn Wittrock (“Death of a Salesmanâ€) had previously been cast as Romeo but withdrew from the production in July in order to work on the film version of “The Normal Heart.â€
Mr. Cihi, who was born in Japan and moved to New York at age 17, previously played Roger in a Japanese tour of the musical “Rent,†and, more recently, appeared in “The Importance of Being Earnest†and “A Month in the Country†at the Williamstown Theater Festival last year.
The company also announced that William Hurt, who was to play Friar Laurence in the Off Broadway production, has left the show for personal reasons, and will be replaced by Daniel Davis.
The cast also includes T.R. Knight as Mercutio and Daphne Rubin-Vega as the nurse. Tea Alagic is the director, and previews begin Sept. 27 for an Oct. 16 opening.
CSC’s “Romeo and Juliet†is one of at least two versions that will be playing simultaneously in New York this fall â€" a Broadway production starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad is currently in previews at the Richard Rodgers Theater, where it is scheduled to open Sept. 19.
