Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn has postponed its upcoming Off-Broadway run, with no new dates yet set for its return. The musical had planned to begin previews February 1, 2022, ahead of an official opening February 14 at Theater 555.
The new musical premiered in 2020 at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York and was scheduled to transfer to Theatre 3 at Theatre Row before the pandemic shuttered theatres around the world. Producers were billing this new February run as an "in-town out-of-town engagement" with hopes to then transfer the production to Broadway later in the spring.
The musical comedy follows Shakespeare’s Romeo as he ends up in 1960 Brooklyn, chasing a girl he believes is his beloved Juliet but who is actually Bernadette, the daughter of a crime family. Directed and choreographed by Justin Ross Cohen, Romeo & Bernadette has a book and lyrics by Mark Saltzman, with music adapted from classic Italian melodies.
Most of the original company had planned to return with the production, including Anna Kostakis and Nikita Burshteyn in the title roles.
“Hard to believe but we must postpone Romeo and Bernadette for the second time,” said producer Eric Krebs in a statement. “Well, Romeo waited 400 years to arrive to Brooklyn in pursuit of his Juliet, now transformed to Bernadette. I guess we will just have to wait another couple of months. My heart goes out to the entire company who have been so supportive and committed to this wonderfully joyous musical. We will just have to share our bliss at a later date.”
