After an unforgettable 2015-2016 season, York Drama is gearing up to produce another groundbreaking set of shows.

To start the year off strong, York Drama will perform William Shakespeare’s most well-known play, Romeo and Juliet. While the show is originally set in the mid-1500’s, it is common for it to be performed in different adaptations. Following the trend, York will be setting the show in the Middle East, 100 years in the future.

“I was inspired by the Oscar-winning film last year called The Girl in the River. The kind of things we see in Romeo and Juliet are things that we still see today,” Mr. Forsythe, the director and math teacher, said on his decision to cast the show so far into the future.

The cast is ecstatic to be a part of this monumental play and cannot wait to share it with the community.

“I’m hoping that the audience can fall in love with the show and learn that Shakespeare doesn’t have to be boring,” said Erin Lee, sophomore, who was recently double-cast as Juliet, along with Julia Doherty, senior.

Romeo and Juliet will be a strong start to a strong season, which will continue with Don Zolidis’ Game of Tiaras, a comedic adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Game of Tiaras combines popular TV show Game of Thrones and several of Walt Disney’s classic princesses to get a terrible, but hilarious, tragedy.

“I’m over the moon to do Game of Tiaras because it’s something completely innovative and new, and a very interesting combination of stories,” Tatum Langley, senior, said about the production. “I imagine it’s going to be like mixing BBQ sauce, mayo, and mustard: a questionable mixture to begin with but in the end a complete masterpiece.”

York’s Summer Theatre Conservatory Class workshopped the play in 2015 and are extremely excited to be producing the full show this winter.

Finally, to cap off a huge season, York Drama will perform Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s incomparable West Side Story.

“All of our shows this season still have relevance today, but West Side Story is especially poignant because of the gang violence we can’t solve, and the frustration of adults and teenagers not understanding each other and the world,” Performing Arts Director Rebecca Marianetti said about her decision to do West Side Story this year.

Students were surprised and overjoyed to learn about Mrs. Marianetti’s choice. After Les Miserables, students were eager to find out what the next musical would be, and they were not disappointed.

“When this show was first announced, I almost didn’t believe we could be doing it, but it soon sunk in that we are doing this incredible show,”Sam Griffin, junior, said. “This show involves a significant amount of dancing that, being a dancer myself, made me very excited and eager to get started.”

With two incredible plays and one of the most groundbreaking musicals of all time, York Drama’s 2016-2017 season is shaping up to be one of its best.