STONINGTON – It’s a tragedy. But that’s only one way to look at Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the famous love story that ends with two teenage newlyweds dead. The tale of star-crossed lovers, which opened last night and runs through Sunday at the Stonington Opera House, is also about the throbbing crushes and short attention spans of youths, whether born into the 17th or 21st century.

“Even though it’s a tragedy, it’s terribly sexy, funny and romantic, which I think makes good summer fare,” said Jeffrey Frace, the New York-based actor who is directing the youth-driven show. “The look is very simple and elegant, but the show is very physical with fight choreography and a lot of energy.”

Think of it as: Shakespeare, the extreme sport. Actors dart across stage, climb trellises, leap onto set pieces and charge one another in fight scenes. They are young, hip and agile. Romeo does acrobatics in the balcony scene, Mercutio goes through angular contortions for his Queen Mab speech (lit from below with a flashlight) and Juliet’s nurse wears at least a size 13 patent-leather sandal (because she’s a man).

Wayne Merritt’s set is an architectural abstraction of scalable walls and fences, but the hard-driving music and the costumes – loud pinks, oranges, reds and blues – scream out the tension between the ill-fated Capulets (in red) and Montagues (in blue).

The story takes place in Verona, but Frace said he was distantly imagining a contemporary, equatorial setting such as Brazil or Belize, where the heat of the day penetrates the heat of the moment.

It’s not such a leap of the imagination. Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film version, about gang members and political rivals in the fictional Miami-like city of Verona Beach, lodged itself in the “action” genre rather than “classic” or even “drama” categories in video collections. It was part MTV, part punk expose.

This is the fourth Shakespeare production in as many years by Opera House Arts, the nonprofit that runs and programs the summer offerings at the renovated Stonington Opera House. It is also the wildest. But that’s a return to what Linda Nelson, executive director of Opera House Arts, calls Shakespeare at his bawdiest and rip-roaring best. It also underscores the mission of the performing arts center.

“People recognize Shakespeare as entertaining and educational,” said Nelson. “One of our organizational goals is to redevelop audiences for live theater. Shakespeare is not out of date. And we’re able to produce it in ways that we feel are meaningful for live audiences.”

The reach of the production, added Nelson, extends beyond the footlights to the community with Summer Stage Stonington, a free weeklong acting program that took place early this season under Frace’s direction. Three of the program’s participants, all of whom live on Deer Isle, are performing in “Romeo and Juliet.” The rest of the cast is from New York City.

Such populism, said Nelson, is what fuels not only the Opera House, but also this particular production.

“Everything we do here is for the ordinary person,” said Nelson. “We have high professional standards but that doesn’t mean our productions are alienated from ordinary people and what they want to see. Our shows are for working people just like Shakespeare’s were.”

The community spirit and high artistic values of the Opera House team attracted Frace, who performed as an actor in last year’s “The Winter Tale.” He and Nelson share a vision of blending community life, local economy and professional artists through cultural activity, whether it is original musicals about a ferry, country music concerts or a live radio show – all Opera House events this summer.

Frace, who trained at Oberlin College and Columbia University, hopes eventually to extend his own dream for a community-action theater company to another faction of society: a nursing home. When he was holding auditions for “Romeo and Juliet” earlier this year in New York, a 70-year-old woman showed up to read for a role. She delivered Juliet’s monologue.

“She did it beautifully,” said Frace. “She brought a maturity but nevertheless remembered being a teenage girl in love for the first time. She was just aglow. I like when art does that.”

The woman wasn’t right for Frace’s campy, youth-centered project in Stonington, in which some of the actors are triple-cast and have to make breakneck costume changes. But he vowed to stage the work with nursing home actors someday.

In the meantime, Frace is determined deliver both the sadness and the comedic elements of Shakespeare’s beloved teen drama to audiences this weekend. It’s a tragedy, he said – and the first one staged for Opera House Arts since the bard became a regular part of the annual programming four years ago. But why not have fun, too?

“For people who haven’t seen it, I’ve stayed true to the story,” said Frace. “For people who have seen it, I want some of the elements to ring in a whole new way.” The Nike sneakers, red lame headscarf, midriff shirts and ripped jeans help drive that point home.

Opera House Arts will present “Romeo and Juliet” 7 p.m. Aug. 20 and 21, and 2 p.m. Aug. 22 at the Stonington Opera House. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for those on fixed incomes and $15 for children under 17. For information, call 367-2788 or visit www.operahousearts.org.