For box office information, click on the title of this review.
Normally, I won’t review a show in its final weekend, but I was invited by the theatre to do so, so there you are. With the Albright production of Romeo and Juliet, I fully expect cries of “What do you want from us?!” to reverberate, because director Jeni Dees took care of a major problem with doing Shakespeare, but in doing so a whole other problem cropped up.
If they do this again next year, Albright needs to consider body mikes. While driving up the energy, relying solely on lungpower hurt a couple of the performances beyond repair. I know, I know… damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Overall, it was an extremely impressive production. Scene changes flowed, the Director’s Concept of setting the show in New Orleans worked pretty well and, as stated, the actors had energy in spades. And thank you, Albright, for not making a sex and violence show into family friendly mush just because it was outside. Romeo and Juliet had sex! Huzzah!
Scott Miller as Romeo was quite good. He understood the language (well, they all did), communicated it well and had all the requisite passion and humanity that the role demands.
Holly Robison as Juliet was the main victim of the lung-power issue. I could see that she was an extremely good actress – she was into it physically, she nailed it emotionally… and most of her lines sounded like she was reading them, not living them. Why? Because most of her energy was being channeled into simply being heard in an outdoor setting. She didn’t have enough left over to bring any nuance to the lines. And that’s not her fault. She was confronted with a situation beyond her control as an actress. So while I understand that the body mike decision was deliberate because it was considered a distraction, that distraction is preferable to losing the nuances of the play. Friar Laurence (Ish Rios) was another victim of this issue; he sounded belligerent most of the time. If you can find a way to use the body mikes while retaining the energy level you achieved here, you’re home free.
Enan Heneghan was dynamic as Mercutio. And casting Benvolio as a woman (Benvolia) changed the Mercutio/Benvolio relationship in a way that was interesting. Veronica Krystal made a terrific Benvolia; she and Heneghan made a great team. Krystal also handled the excellent fight choreography. Marea Berkley Clement shined as the Nurse. Loving, compassionate and bigger than life – exactly what the Nurse needs to be.
Jim Oberg & Sarah Odenback were very good as Lord & Lady Capulet. My only problem was that Odenback and Dees had Lady Capulet making dismayed faces when Lord C. arranges Juliet’s marriage to Paris and sympathetic faces when breaking the news to Juliet, just before saying lines that are harder than any father’s could be. That doesn’t work. “Humanizing” villains does not mean making them sympathetic – I’ve met very unsympathetic people who are arguably human. Lady Capulet backs up her husband unquestioningly – it’s the rigid, imperious parental facism that sets up the tragedy – the disinclination to show any sympathy until it’s way too late. Humanize them in their scene with Paris: the Capulets are known throughout Verona (all right, New Orleans) as irascible bastards that start gang-fights with their neighbors in the street. If you cross them, you die. Who the hell would willingly marry into a pack of rabid weasels like that? There’s no chance that anyone sane would take their daughter, no matter how beautiful. But they actually manage to land a sucker (with a title and money) – and the daughter says “no”. That fuels their hard-heartedness in a human way. Analogy: they saved up their money and underwent hardship to give their daughter a pony for her birthday. She glances at it and says, “Wrong color.”
While I’m on things I didn’t like – “zounds” rhymes with “mooned”, not “hound”; it’s a contraction of the oath “God’s wounds” – Romeo and Juliet are getting dressed, post-sex. The Nurse comes in. Says, “Hey, your Mom’s coming up the stairs – shake a leg.” And the pace doesn’t change. At all. Romeo should be throwing on his clothes saying, “Shit, I gotta get out of here” while Juliet is clinging onto him, simultaneously pushing him out the door. The only reason the Nurse comes in is to kick up the energy and get Romeo the hell out of there.
But overall, it was an extremely good show. You bought that Romeo and Juliet were in love, the New Orleans setting worked well, the fight choreography crackled, as did the balcony scene. Albright did a very nice job with the show. If they’re out there next summer and give in on the body mike issue, go see them. Or see some of their indoor stuff this year.
Normally, I won’t review a show in its final weekend, but I was invited by the theatre to do so, so there you are. With the Albright production of Romeo and Juliet, I fully expect cries of “What do you want from us?!” to reverberate, because director Jeni Dees took care of a major problem with doing Shakespeare, but in doing so a whole other problem cropped up.
If they do this again next year, Albright needs to consider body mikes. While driving up the energy, relying solely on lungpower hurt a couple of the performances beyond repair. I know, I know… damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Overall, it was an extremely impressive production. Scene changes flowed, the Director’s Concept of setting the show in New Orleans worked pretty well and, as stated, the actors had energy in spades. And thank you, Albright, for not making a sex and violence show into family friendly mush just because it was outside. Romeo and Juliet had sex! Huzzah!
Scott Miller as Romeo was quite good. He understood the language (well, they all did), communicated it well and had all the requisite passion and humanity that the role demands.
Holly Robison as Juliet was the main victim of the lung-power issue. I could see that she was an extremely good actress – she was into it physically, she nailed it emotionally… and most of her lines sounded like she was reading them, not living them. Why? Because most of her energy was being channeled into simply being heard in an outdoor setting. She didn’t have enough left over to bring any nuance to the lines. And that’s not her fault. She was confronted with a situation beyond her control as an actress. So while I understand that the body mike decision was deliberate because it was considered a distraction, that distraction is preferable to losing the nuances of the play. Friar Laurence (Ish Rios) was another victim of this issue; he sounded belligerent most of the time. If you can find a way to use the body mikes while retaining the energy level you achieved here, you’re home free.
Enan Heneghan was dynamic as Mercutio. And casting Benvolio as a woman (Benvolia) changed the Mercutio/Benvolio relationship in a way that was interesting. Veronica Krystal made a terrific Benvolia; she and Heneghan made a great team. Krystal also handled the excellent fight choreography. Marea Berkley Clement shined as the Nurse. Loving, compassionate and bigger than life – exactly what the Nurse needs to be.
Jim Oberg & Sarah Odenback were very good as Lord & Lady Capulet. My only problem was that Odenback and Dees had Lady Capulet making dismayed faces when Lord C. arranges Juliet’s marriage to Paris and sympathetic faces when breaking the news to Juliet, just before saying lines that are harder than any father’s could be. That doesn’t work. “Humanizing” villains does not mean making them sympathetic – I’ve met very unsympathetic people who are arguably human. Lady Capulet backs up her husband unquestioningly – it’s the rigid, imperious parental facism that sets up the tragedy – the disinclination to show any sympathy until it’s way too late. Humanize them in their scene with Paris: the Capulets are known throughout Verona (all right, New Orleans) as irascible bastards that start gang-fights with their neighbors in the street. If you cross them, you die. Who the hell would willingly marry into a pack of rabid weasels like that? There’s no chance that anyone sane would take their daughter, no matter how beautiful. But they actually manage to land a sucker (with a title and money) – and the daughter says “no”. That fuels their hard-heartedness in a human way. Analogy: they saved up their money and underwent hardship to give their daughter a pony for her birthday. She glances at it and says, “Wrong color.”
While I’m on things I didn’t like – “zounds” rhymes with “mooned”, not “hound”; it’s a contraction of the oath “God’s wounds” – Romeo and Juliet are getting dressed, post-sex. The Nurse comes in. Says, “Hey, your Mom’s coming up the stairs – shake a leg.” And the pace doesn’t change. At all. Romeo should be throwing on his clothes saying, “Shit, I gotta get out of here” while Juliet is clinging onto him, simultaneously pushing him out the door. The only reason the Nurse comes in is to kick up the energy and get Romeo the hell out of there.
But overall, it was an extremely good show. You bought that Romeo and Juliet were in love, the New Orleans setting worked well, the fight choreography crackled, as did the balcony scene. Albright did a very nice job with the show. If they’re out there next summer and give in on the body mike issue, go see them. Or see some of their indoor stuff this year.
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