Juliet With a Y Chromosome

James Davis wasn't all that surprised to learn he had been cast in a plum role in Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of "Romeo and Juliet," running through Oct. 12 at Sidney Harman Hall.

Surprising to some, however, is that he is playing Juliet.

The production is all-male, a throwback to the way the play would have been cast in Elizabethan times. When the 23-year-old Juilliard graduate auditioned, he thought he had a "really great shot" at the part, having more experience in cross-dressing Shakespeare than most actors. On his short résumé? Julia in "2Gents," a guys-only version of "Two Gentleman of Verona"; Lady Capulet in "Shakespeare's R&J," a contemporary adaptation of the Bard's tragic love story set in a boys' boarding school; and the Player Queen in "Hamlet."

One thing did give him pause.

"When I looked in the mirror," Davis says, "I just didn't see Juliet."

Here's what he did see: A muscular, 6-foot-1-inch gym rat. And, yes, he's slightly taller than his Romeo, in case you were wondering. "Not your typical Juliet, I know," he admits with a laugh.

The "puffed-up" body type was a byproduct of playing Cassio this past summer in an Indiana production of "Othello," a role that sent Davis to the weight room in an effort to maintain what he calls Cassio's "fighter" physique.

When he got the part of Juliet, he decided he needed a "more dainty -- I don't want to say effeminate, but lithe, delicate -- physique. I just thought it would be a good excuse to stop working out."

Assisting the transformation is makeup and a wig, but no falsies. Juliet is, after all, only 13 years old, according to Shakespeare's text. Traditional, tightly corseted Elizabethan costuming manipulates the eye, Davis says, not the body, minimizing his shoulders and making his hips look rounder.

As for his voice, the actor doesn't do much to change it, describing it as grounded in his normal speaking voice -- which no one would ever mistake for a girl's -- if pitched slightly higher. "It's still recognizable that it's me," he says.

What's the secret of his affinity for playing women? "I think that the reason I keep getting cast in these roles is that I recognize the fact that men and women really aren't that dissimilar."

It's a trick Davis says he learned at Juilliard. "There was an older student when I was a first-year, and I remember him saying that whenever he approaches a role, he always approaches it looking for the feminine energy and the masculine energy. I think that always stuck with me."

This yin-yang approach has served Davis well, regardless of acting challenge. "It's great to go into a serious role and find the humor," he explains. "It's great to go into a youthful role and look at the other side: how much they actually do know, and how much experience, and how much age they do have."

Davis acknowledges that some audience members, coming into an all-male production of this most romantic of stories, might wonder how the love scenes will play. Personally, he isn't worried.

"There's a line in 'Romeo and Juliet' -- it's the goodbye scene, where he's banished and it's the last time they're together -- and she says, 'Art thou gone so? love, lord, ay, husband, friend!' I really think that sums up the relationship between Romeo and Juliet, especially the friend part. And I think that the friend part really carries well in an all-male production."

Besides, by the time there's any canoodling, Davis is convinced that the audience will be long past caring who's wearing the dresses.

"Without a doubt," he says, "people will forget that men are playing women within five to 10 minutes."

Interested in an all-female version of "Romeo and Juliet"? See today's Style on the Go.

Romeo and Juliet Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. 877-487-8849.http://www.shakespearedc.org. Through Oct. 12. $20-$79.75.