Even if you don’t know your Shakespeare, some of the lines from Romeo and Juliet are oh so familiar: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet . . . Parting is such sweet sorrow . . . A plague on both your houses!

And whether you know your Shakespeare or not, you will be entranced by the current production of Romeo and Juliet, presented by Cranbrook’s own Bard in Your Own Backyard, and playing for a six-night run Jan. 28 to Feb. 2 at Key City Theatre. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. nightly.

It must be said that a good part of the enchantment comes from Amy Morrison as Juliet. She is, quite simply, stunning in the role. At times, Juliet is a girl who is pining for love; at other times, she is a headstrong, recalcitrant daughter; then again, she is a typical teen who has zero patience with the older generation; and she is finally a passionate young woman forced to face cruel sorrow. Morrison has the dramatic range to play Juliet in all these moods.

Stuart Driedger offers a charming, kinetic performance as Juliet’s lovestruck Romeo. He is a Montague who first meets Juliet when he effectively crashes a Capulet party, and wastes no time in wooing the fair maiden.

Also remarkable in their roles are Alexander Gilmour as Friar Laurence and Lorraine Butler as Juliet’s Nurse; these two characters are complicit in aiding and abetting the star-crossed lovers’ plans with, as we know all too well, disastrous results.

If the story is familiar, this cast of locals under the direction of Paul Kershaw, with Don Davidson as assistant director, brings fresh vigour to Shakespeare’s play. Although it’s a tragedy, of course, there is nevertheless a great deal of humor (some of it a wee bit raunchy) in the first act, not to mention a number of crashing good swordfights.

There is also familiar family tension, especially in the Capulet clan, beautifully played by Georgia Bueckert as Juliet’s mother and Barry Coulter as her father.

Mark Casey is outstanding as the clownish Mercutio; he’s part of the Montague gang and brings a ton of energy to his role. Dean Nicholson also gives a strong performance as Benvolio, another of Romeo’s pals. Their counterpart on the Capulet side of the street is Tybalt, ably played by Drew McGowan (who is also the fight choreographer for this production).

Jack Lindquist and Susan Hanson make the most of their smaller roles as Romeo’s parents, and Hanson is also the show’s producer.

Also notable are Devan Jones as Paris, the count who is the elder Capulets’ preferred choice as Juliet’s suitor; Thom McCaughey as the oft-times befuddled servant Peter; and Don Davidson as a regal Prince Escalus, ruler of Verona, the setting of the play.

Josh Klassen acquits himself well as the Montague servant Balthasar, who has his best lines in Act 2.

It should also be noted that the actors in this production range from 13 years old to just-turned-89. The former is young actor Austin Butler, who plays Paris’s page, and the inimitable Bud Abbott who has (if I didn’t lose count) five roles in Romeo and Juliet, including the apothecary who is willing to trade poison for gold.

The set and costumes, by the way, are also stars in this production. The period costumes, some rented and some made locally, are gorgeous in their rich velvets and brocades and their lovely jewel tones. Kudos to costume co-ordinator Brenda Babinski. Also complementing the play is some beautiful background music, directed by Terry Macham.

The set faithfully mimics a proper Elizabethan stage (like Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre). And, yes, there is a balcony, where quite a lot of action takes place.

It’s a long play, but the individual scenes are generally short and varied, so the play as a whole zips along quite smoothly.

In one scene, Juliet refers to Romeo this way: My only love sprung from my only hate. . .

Funny how this kind of tension still rings true in 2010.

But that’s Shakespeare for you. And this is Cranbrook’s own Bard in Your Own Backyard. Don’t miss it.