Dear editor,

The enormous lights shone through the vast darkness as I sat with goose bumps running up and down my arms. Over one hundred people gathered on Sept. 10 in the middle of the amphitheater with a Starbuckís coffee in hand and a sweatshirt on.

The lights focused on the stage as the director (S. Eric Day) came onto the stage filled with excitement and told us about the seasonal Woodward Park Shakespeare Festival. As he walked off the stage the lights dimmed as the stage filled with actors.

I was intrigued by the play, until I became puzzled by their use of guns and flashlights. Eventually I realized that they had moved Romeo and Juliet from the Renaissance of Italy period to World War II; it made more sense to me and I was then carried back into the story.

It was absolutely silent as Juliet (Kimberly Guevara) and Romeo (Adam Meredith) expressed their love for each other in their dying moments. What I thought would be a mind-numbing experience proved to be a captivating evening.