BANGOR – Penobscot Theatre will welcome the Theater at Monmouth as the Shakespearean Theater of Maine’s touring production of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy of love, “Romeo and Juliet,” comes to the Bangor Opera House for two performances at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3.

The production, set in modern times, features Gov. John Baldacci delivering the famous prologue and epilogue by video and a cast of 10 professional actors from Maine and New York.

The company, known for its summer season of classic plays, its fall musical and spring touring children’s shows is adding a winter tour of a great Shakespearean play thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts.

For the third year in a row, the Theater at Monmouth has been selected as the only company in northern New England, and one of only 30 companies across the country, to participate in the prestigious Shakespeare in American Communities: Shakespeare for a New Generation program. With financial support from the National Endowment for the Arts through Arts Midwest, the Theater at Monmouth is touring with a full production of “Romeo and Juliet.”

The Theater at Monmouth’s “Romeo and Juliet” production features Baldacci as Escalus, Prince of Verona (by video), New York-based actress Devin Moriarity as Juliet, and New York actor and Maine native Benjamin Weaver as Romeo. The cast includes Michael Santora, Samuel Shaw, Chris O’Carroll, Ginna Hoben, Jessica Pohly, Michael Pauley, Frank Omar and Michael Frischman.

The production is directed by the Theater at Monmouth’s Jeri Pitcher, who recently has directed “The Tempest” and “The Grapes of Wrath” for the theater, and has performed in the previous two winter tours of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” and “Henry V.”

The production runs just over two hours and includes one intermission. The seamless movement of the play, along with many visually stunning moments, makes the show a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for those unfamiliar with his plays. It also will please Shakespeare fans used to seeing Shakespeare performed with twice as many actors.

The tour of “Romeo and Juliet” runs regionally through Saturday, March 17. For a complete schedule of performances and other events, call the Theater at Monmouth at 933-9999, or visit www.theateratmonmouth.org.

For tickets to the Bangor Opera House performances, call the Penobscot Theatre box office at 942-3333 or order online at www.penobscottheatre.org.