Jay Armstrong Johnson & Talisa Friedman to Rock Out as Romeo & Juliet in The Last Goodbye, Featuring the Music of Jeff Buckley

Jay Armstrong Johnson and Talisa Friedman will headline The Last Goodbye, a new musical fusing William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with the songs of Jeff Buckley. Johnson and Friedman will star as Shakespeare's famous star-crossed lovers. The Last Goodbye will begin previews at the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre on September 20. Opening night is scheduled for October 6 and the show will run through November 3.

Directed by two-time Tony nominee Alex Timbers (Peter and the Starcatcher, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), the cast of The Last Goodbye will also feature Hale Appleman (Mercutio), Stephen Bogardus (Friar Lawrence), Nancy Snow Carr (Lady Montague), Shannon Cochran (Lady Capulet), Brandon Gill (Benvolio), Bryan Scott Johnson (Montague), Eric Morris (Paris), Daniel Oreskes (Capulet), Tonye Patano (Nurse), Wallace Smith (Prince Escalus) and Jeremy Woodard (Tybalt). James Brown III, Billy Bustamante, Drew Foster, Adam Perry, Steve Schepis and Nik Walker, Megan Carmitchel and Bradley Gibson round out the show's ensemble.

Conceived and adapted by Michael Kimmel, the rock musical brings together the tragic story of Romeo and Juliet with some of the most thrilling and extraordinary rock songs of the late icon Jeff Buckley. Some of Buckely's most well-known songs include his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," "Last Goodbye," "Lover, You Should've Come Over" and "Forget Her."

Johnson was recently seen on Broadway in Hands on a Hardbody as well as with the companies of Catch Me If You Can and Hair. He has appeared off-Broadway in Wild Animals You Should Know and Working. Friedman's theater credits include Ah, Wilderness!, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and the world premiere stage adaptation of Donnie Darko.