Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn begins performances January 14 at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres, ahead of an official opening January 23. The cast includes Nikita Burshteyn (Newsies), Anna Kostakis, Carlos Lopez (Man of La Mancha), Michael Marotta (Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical), Judy McLane (Mamma Mia!), Michael Notardonato, Ari Raskin, Troy Valjean Rucker (The Scottsboro Boys), Zach Schanne (Pippin), and Viet Vo (The Mikado).

With a book and lyrics by Saltzman and music adapted from classic Italian melodies, the musical concerns Romeo, who finds himself in 1960 Brooklyn chasing a girl he believes is his beloved Juliet. But the girl is Bernadette, the beautiful, foul-mouthed daughter of a crime family in this spoof of Shakespeare’s timeless tale.