The Classic Remix Project commissions playwrights to create new works that revitalize and respond to classic literature found in most high school curriculums.

After hearing from educators and district leaders about their struggle to engage high school students in classic literature, the Alliance Theatre is pleased to announce a new playwriting initiative. The Classic Remix Project will commission leading American playwrights to create new works that revitalize, rethink, and respond to classic literary works found in most school curriculums. The goal for the program is to create a canon of new work that will engage and delight both high school students and adult audiences. Written with an immediacy that unleashes the questions and perspectives found in these classic stories, the Classic Remix plays will invite all audiences to engage with the material in ways that feel relevant to their contemporary world view. Classic Remix furthers the Alliance’s commitment to engaging with high school students and creating work for our diverse community.

Playwrights and projects under commission which will be programmed in upcoming seasons, include:

• ROMEO AND JULIET, by Hansol Jung and inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. 
• WALDEN by K.J. Sanchez and inspired by Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.
• A TALE OF TWO CITIES (a modern look at income disparity) by Brendan Pelsue and inspired by A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

Pre-existing plays that will be programmed at the Alliance for Classic Remix include:

• SEIZE THE KING, by Will Power and inspired by Shakespeare’s Richard III
• JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, by Kimberly Belflower and inspired by The Crucible, by Arthur Miller.