ST. LOUIS—The Saint Louis Zoo fed Shakespearean-themed enrichment ice treats to the sea lions and the Grizzly Bears on Wednesday to celebrate the Saint Louis Shakespeare Festival, which is now selling tickets for Romeo and Zooliet.

What You Need To Know

  • Saint Louis Shakespeare Festival is now selling tickets for Romeo and Zooliet which will be performed in the Saint Louis Zoo on historic hill

  • To celebrate the launch of ticket sales of the "first in North America" type of performance, zoo staff fed a sea lion and grizzly bears Shakespearean inspired icy treats

  • The 85 minute one-act will feature dazzling life-size animal puppetry by world-renowned Michael Curry Design who worked on Broadway’s “the Lion King” and “Frozen” as well as Olympic and Super Bowl ceremonies 

  • The audience for Romeo and Zooliet, with performances in July and August, will see a sea lion as the prince and grizzly bears as Lady Capulet and Juliet

Grizzly bears received an ice-stack birthday “cake” and the sea lions received an ice crown and scepter, each containing their favorite foods.

The two St. Louis entertainment organizations had planned a collaboration for years.

“This is an original production based on a graphic novel which is based on the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet,” said Michael Macek, Director of the Saint Louis Zoo. “The concept is the animals at the zoo, so the animals that are surrounding you come together after all the animal caretakers go home and they put on their own production of Romeo and Juliet.”

Art is no stranger to Saint Louis Zoo, which uses art throughout the zoo via paintings, sculpture, dance and music previously.

“We have never done a full original theatrical production here on the zoo grounds. In fact I don’t think any association of zoos and aquariums, a credited zoo, has ever done it. So I think it’s a first in North America,” said Macek.

“It’s an updated twist on Romeo and Juliet,” added Tom Ridgely, producing artistic director for St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. “All the characters are portrayed by these stunning life sized puppets.”

This family friendly stage adaptation is produced exclusively for the St. Louis Zoo and is to feature dazzling life-size animal puppetry by world-renowned Michael Curry Design who worked on Broadway’s “the Lion King” and “Frozen” as well as Olympic and Super Bowl ceremonies including the lion that Katy Perry road in on during her halftime show of Super Bowl XLIX.

The audience for Romeo and Zooliet will see a sea lion as the prince and grizzly bears as Lady Capulet and Juliet.

“There’s something about visiting the zoo brings back childhood memories and unlocks the idealism I think in all of us,” said Ridgley. “And puppets do that same thing; there’s just something that taps into that sense of play I think. So to have that be the introduction to Shakespeare for a lot of young people I think makes it seem a little more fun and accessible.”

Tickets are scheduled to go on sale April 23, 2025, for the ground-breaking production to be performed at the Zoo’s Historic Hill between July 8 and August 17.