A pair of Tri-Cities actors are putting a hip-hop spin on classic tales like West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet to raise awareness around the perils of gang life.

Coquitlam's Jorge Escobar and Murry Peeters will be involved with the Miscellaneous Productions presentation of Kutz & Dawgz, as the show makes its way through Abbotsford this week.

The plot follows two rival gangs consisting of cool alley cats (Kutz) and junkyard dogs (Dawgz) at war in the fictional Fair Verona Junkyard.

As the show winds down into its final phases, images and themes similar to those in Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story are re-interpreted through the use of hip hop, world music and dance theatre to tell a cautionary tale with an anti-gang, anti-violence and anti-gun message.

Kutz & Dawgz will be staged at Abbotsford's Matsqui Centennial Auditorium at 1: 30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8, and 8 p.m on Friday, Nov. 9.

For more information, see www.miscellaneousproductions.ca.