A lightning bolt of inspiration races through Center Stage's production of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, transforming the once-familiar play into something unexpected and new.

Director Irene Lewis' decision to cast black actors in the two title roles, while the remaining characters all are white, adds layers of nuance and depth to Tom Stoppard's brilliant meditation on fate vs. free will, mortality, identity and the theater.

If you go Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead runs at Center Stage, 700 N. Calvert St., through March 9. Show times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. $10-$60. Call 410-332-0033 or go to centerstage.org.