Every time Ricki Franklin steps into character as Juliet for the upcoming Saint Louis Zoo and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival collaborative presentation of “Romeo and Zooliet,” she feels an indescribable sense of pride. She’s proud to be an artist with the opportunity to share her passion with an audience. There’s also an epic scale of hometown pride.
“I’m so St. Louis, doing St. Louis things in St. Louis places,” Franklin said. “Being able to be a part of these two major cultural institutions coming together in this way for the first time – institutions that are quintessential to my city – is just so special.”
This weekend Franklin stars alongside Jordan Moore and a talented, diverse and multigenerational cast when “Romeo and Zooliet” opens this weekend at the Saint Louis Zoo.
“I’m still reckoning with the ‘I can’t believe I’m about to be Juliet’ of it all” Franklin said.
The production, which is also part of St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s 25th anniversary programming, continues through August 17. It is one of the most famous roles in the history of the stage, but Franklin’s Juliet looks a bit different thanks to the “play within a play” premise.
After zoo patrons, staff and zookeepers go home, the animals get bored. To pass the time, they decide to start their own theater company. They go about staging a production of “Romeo and Juliet.” Franklin’s Juliet is a grizzly cub. Her Romeo is a prairie dog. The Montagues are herbivores and the Capulets are carnivores.
“She is a bit rougher and she has more of a temper than you see human Juliets portray,” Franklin said. “It’s been really fun to explore that and get to put that new twist on it. It’s such a classic character, so I have been so blessed to have the built-in asset of her being an animal as I put my own twist on the role and bring that to life.”
The family friendly adaptation explores the theme of building friendships despite differences. The production features animal puppetry by world-renowned Michael Curry Design, known for its work on Broadway’s “The Lion King” and “Frozen” along with Olympic and Super Bowl ceremonies.
“The ability that the whole cast had – how we were all able to learn how to move these beautifully intricate puppets in this span of time and to adapt to the challenges that came with that – I’ll be able to take that with me anytime I approach a challenge.”
Franklin decided to become an actress after constantly being called a “drama queen” by her mother.
“At a point, I was like, ‘You know what, that is what I am going to make of my life,” Franklin said.
She can still recite the first line she ever performed while appearing as a munchkin in an elementary school production of “The Wizard of Oz.”
The Lutheran North and Baylor University grad’s first professional acting gig was with St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s touring production of “Othello.”
“Growing up as an African American kid, the images of Shakespeare [actors] that came to mind was some older white man in a ruffle top, holding a skull,” Franklin said.
But then she saw a production of a Shakespeare play staged by The Black Rep and realized that she too could lend her talents to his iconic canon, which theSt. Louis Shakespeare Festival has allowed her to do.
“What inspires me as an actor is seeing people who look like me, or people I can see myself in as a performer,” said Franklin. “If one person sees themselves in my performance and it makes them realize that they too can do anything like this…that’s a dream come true for me.”
Beyond representation, Franklin hopes the message that permeates throughout “Romeo and Zooliet” connects with audiences.
“One of the things I noticed when I first read the script – and was getting to know this character- was that she wants people to know she is more than what they see,” Franklin said. “People see her as a carnivore, but she’s like, ‘Meat is only 25 percent of my diet.’ I want this play to be a reminder that there is more to people than what you see and what you perceive of them – and that friendship can extend beyond our differences.”
The Saint Louis Zoo and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s presentation of “Romeo and Zooliet” will continue through August 17th at The Saint Louis Zoo. For more information, visit stlshakes.org or stlzoo.org.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
