Rockaway Drama: Romeo & Juliet — This Weekend, Aug. 22–24
Rehearsal in action! Josh Armstrong (left), Eric Dahl (center), Steve Hyltons (Right). Photo by: Jena Cumbo
It’s the perfect, hot, sunny beach day — yet fifteen dedicated actors, some from Rockaway and others from afar, head up the stairs to the small rehearsal space at the Knights of Columbus on Beach 90th Street, as they have been for months. The scene: discipline and dedication, with laughter and serious tone scattered throughout the hours. Sword fights! Stops and starts, iced matcha, tension over creative, 5-inch tan, sparkly high heels, and drama twirled into the must-do energy — all in service of one shared goal: bringing live theater to Rockaway.
This spirit fuels Shakespeare on the Rocks, a new theater company led by producers and co-directors Elwin Cuevas and Robert Bryn. Cuevas is an NYC SAG-AFTRA actor, an activist and boundary-pushing theatre officiant. Bryn, a poet, filmmaker, playwright, and Wild Yak— now channeling decades of storytelling to directing. Both artists live in Rockaway—Cuevas for three years and Bryn for decades—bringing distinct pieces of their lived experiences on the peninsula to the production, which are woven into the subtext of the performance.
Romeo (Ellington-Blue Chapman) and Juliet (Jeniece Brown) running lines. Photo by: Jena Cumbo
It’s the perfect, hot, sunny beach day — yet fifteen dedicated actors, some from Rockaway and others from afar, head up the stairs to the small rehearsal space at the Knights of Columbus on Beach 90th Street, as they have been for months. The scene: discipline and dedication, with laughter and serious tone scattered throughout the hours. Sword fights! Stops and starts, iced matcha, tension over creative, 5-inch tan, sparkly high heels, and drama twirled into the must-do energy — all in service of one shared goal: bringing live theater to Rockaway.
This spirit fuels Shakespeare on the Rocks, a new theater company led by producers and co-directors Elwin Cuevas and Robert Bryn. Cuevas is an NYC SAG-AFTRA actor, an activist and boundary-pushing theatre officiant. Bryn, a poet, filmmaker, playwright, and Wild Yak— now channeling decades of storytelling to directing. Both artists live in Rockaway—Cuevas for three years and Bryn for decades—bringing distinct pieces of their lived experiences on the peninsula to the production, which are woven into the subtext of the performance.
The play: “Romeo & Juliet. The stage: Under the sky at the amphitheater (boardwalk at Beach 94th St.), The When: August 22-24, 6:30-9pm.
Artist Carolin Wood (left) with Co-Producer Robert Bryn. Photo courtesy of Carolin Wood. Photo by Tonya Smay
Jeniece Brown, cast as Juliet after self-submitting on Backstage.com, commutes from Washington Heights for rehearsals. Her take on Rockaway’s Juliet: “She starts young, but she’s very intelligent. You watch her take action and agency over her life.” Asked about the famous kiss, she shrugs like a pro: the production works with a certified intimacy coordinator, so “everything is choreographed to serve the story—timed, repeatable, not awkward.”
Ellington-Blue Chapman, who splits time between Brooklyn and Rockaway and teaches surfing, was sought out by Bryn. Chapman showed up to audition with a single goal: “I came here for Romeo.” He points to Act 3, Scene 3 as his northstar—“the turn,” when grief, banishment, and love collide. Acting, he says, feels like freedom—“chasing the dream,” the same way a good set of waves demands your whole attention.
Eric Anthony Dahl (Samson) is the swagger and spark that helps ignite the feud. A veteran improviser returning to scripted work, he’s delighted to discover the joy and rigor of being a part of a scripted play. “It’s a different muscle—no riffing; every word matters.” Eric landed in Rockaway during lockdown and never looked back.
The Nurse is played with warmth by Catherine Yeager McQuaid, a licensed massage therapist who owns a local practice and holds a BFA from Marymount. Classically trained and once a touring Shakespeare actor, she moved to Rockaway for the Boatel Art project at Marina 59 in 2011 and stayed through Sandy—“that kind of rooted me here.” For Catherine, the location of the play is a character of its own: “You hear the shore, watch the sun drop, then sit under the stars. Theater is teamwork. This show feels like the community, working in rhythm.” She nods to the amphitheater and post-Sandy positives—proof that art can be part of rebuilding.
Music Director Dave Treut opens each evening with a 6:30 pm set, then threads music and motifs through the play. He’s written a tone poem inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s “On Love” and is reimagining a Lakota Sioux flute melody as Juliet’s theme. The wireless mics purchased with fundraising money, will carry both voices and instruments, so the surf can still hum through his arrangements.
For the set design, the show leans proudly DIY. Many local, multimedia artists have contributed their talents including prop design by Carolin Wood, poster design by Teresa Farrell as well as styling cast member Sean Flaherty into a living tree. Wood built and created a giant oversized sun “so big two people have to carry it,” among other key visuals to set the theatrical mood.
Co-director Robert Bryn shares the evolution of the vision for this Rockaway rendition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: he toyed with color-coding the feuding houses, Montagues (red) and the Capulets, (blue), a reference to our current rivaling political tribes. Then the cast formed —diverse in age, background, and politics—and the idea evolved. “It stopped being about sides. It became about cooperation—how you actually make a town, or a play, unite despite our differences.”
Produced and Directed by Robert Bryn (left) and Elwin Cuevas (Right). Photo by: Jena Cumbo
The cast also includes Peyton Housten (Lord Capulet), Charlene Ruscalleda (Lady Montague), and Lauren Harrison—who also serves as fight choreographer—doubling as Benvolio and Balthazar, along with Myles Rich (Mercutio), Seamus O’Sullivan (Tybalt), Sydney Reeddeleon (Peter), Abishek Ojha (Paris), Vera Kahn (Abraham), Josh Armstrong (Gregory), Eric Dahl (Sampson), and Steve Hyltons (the Apothecary). Also featured, Owen Loof (Prince), Rob Bryn (Friar Laurence), Jerry Rea (Lord Montague), and Ginger Ladd (Lady Capulet).
In addition to those already mentioned, the production team includes costume director Sam Burgoon, set designer Tim Reckel, and intimacy coordinator Connor Percifield.
Backed by months of work, this production delivers three evenings of community collaboration, effort and art. As Bryn puts it: “There’s something precious about a short run. It’s like an arrow flying—here for a moment, then gone. That makes it special.” If the goal is to expand what feels possible on the peninsula, this play does just that.
Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare on the Rocks — outdoors at the Rockaway Beach Amphitheater, Experience it Friday through Sunday, August 22–24, 6:30pm. Admission is free, and all ages are welcome. Plan for the ocean breeze—bring a blanket, a chair, some snacks, a friend; sit next to your foe or hold hands with your lover—and enjoy this wildly creative interpretation of love, tragedy, and unity.
Fund the drama (the good kind): Venmo @robert-Bryn, follow @shakespeare_on_the_rocks and see what’s next at shakespeareontherocks.org.
