HARLEM — It's Verona on the Harlem River.
The latest adaptation of Shakespeare's depiction of teenage love brings the action to 125th Street.
“Romeo and Juliet in Harlem,” a film directed by Aleta Chappelle, a Hollywood casting director, who has worked on movies like the "The Godfather III", "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit", and "The Nutty Professor", transports the star-crossed lovers into modern-day New York.
“Harlem really became a character,” Chappelle said. “The atmosphere, energy, color and diversity were such a big part of the project.”
Chappelle was inspired to make the film after directing a stage production of Romeo of Juliet with a cast of Latino and African-American actors. The actors had such a good time that they asked her to put on another show and she though “Why don’t we just make a movie,” she said.
About 90 percent of the movie was filmed in Harlem. The opening lines are under the marquee of the Apollo, the fight between Tybalt and Mercutio happens at a basketball court on 130th Street, and characters walk by Astor Row and Langston Hughes’ home.
For the actors, being a part of the film gave them the rare opportunity to play characters in positions of power, said Hernando Caicedo, a Colombian-born actor who played Romeo but routinely goes out for parts like "knife-weilding crook, drug lord or bus boy."
“Growing up I never saw people like myself on screen," he said. "I think this movie, more than anything, is for the younger generations to see people of color and minorities in positions of power. If that’s absent, as a kid you don’t think that’s a possibility."
Because of their relatively small budget — about $100,000 — they shot the movie “guerilla style,” in public areas without closing off streets or blocking traffic.
“We shot on the subway platform,” Chappelle said. “That was funny because timing the train to come where the lines would finish in time for Romeo to jump on the train was extremely tricky.”
Most of the time New Yorkers left them alone while they were filming. A couple of actors, like Harry Lennix who is on the "Blacklist" and Vicky Jeudy of "Orange is the New Black," were recognized by fans.
Another memorable shot was the big fight scene, which was filmed next to a playground filled with more than a dozen 5 and 6-year-olds, Chappelle said.
“I didn’t realize all the little kids on the playground had come to the fence to watch and when I said cut they all started clapping,” she said. “It was one of the best moments of my life.”
The crew is currently trying to raise money for a distribution deal. They plan to make the movie available for download in a couple of months and are hoping to have it run in some movie theaters around the country.
They have already secured an educational distribution deal to sell the film to schools and universities.
Chappelle hopes the film helps young Black and Latino children get excited about Shakespeare. She is currently working on a similar production of Macbeth.
