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A young cast brings chemistry and verve to American Stage's under-the-stars Romeo and Juliet.
By JOHN FLEMING, Times Performing Arts Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 14, 2003
Friday night, when the production opened, most people in the crowd on Demens Landing knew that the balcony scene was coming about 25 minutes into the play, probably could recite chunks of the verse from half-remembered English classes, and still it came as a thrilling revelation.
Tresser, giddily bounding from behind a pillar, ran his fingers through his hair, thrust his hands into the air, and declared his presence with the passionate belief of first and forever-lasting love.
Churchill, charmingly cavorting on the balcony as if on a jungle gym, communicated a wisdom beyond her character's 14 years, entreating the impulsive young swain below her not to swear by the "inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her orb" but "by thy gracious self."
They are a well-matched pair, he with his dream-boat looks and air of head-over-heels disarray, she with her diminutive cuteness, a lovely crooked smile and a will of iron. Their chemistry and conviction have an irresistible color and pathos that is riveting.
This production also is a bit of risk that pays off big. After a number of musical treatments of Shakespeare in the park that were somewhat hit or miss, American Stage has mounted a straight dramatic production for the first time in more than a decade.
Romeo and Juliet was the obvious choice because of its familiarity and appeal to young people, and besides, it would be folly to try to do it as a musical and draw comparisons with perhaps the greatest Shakespearean adaptation of all, West Side Story.
Director Andy Goldberg goes from strength to strength, following up his staging of last year's hit in the park, The Bomb-itty of Errors, which, for all its inventiveness, was more hip hop than Shakespeare, with a penetrating, original interpretation of the romantic tragedy that is notably strong on the basics. He has done a great job with a predominantly youthful cast in making the play's Elizabethan verse not just comprehensible but compelling.
A key element in the performance's success is the pell-mell pacing, with actors spouting their speeches with barely a pause but still being heard with, for the most part, clarity and verve. Of the younger performers, Northeast is an exceptional Shakespearean, and her command of the language brings out the confident poet in the more callow Tresser.
Che Ayende is a sensational Mercutio, bare-chested and covered in tattoos, the volatile Montague kinsman, a dangerous ruffian whose mind-bending, hilarious ode to Queen Mab is a bawdy tour de force. Ryan McCarthy's Benvolio has a whiny, nasal delivery that works well for a punk. The bonding between Romeo and his mates is persuasive and strangely touching.
Mercutio's much-put-upon foil on the Capulet side of the street is Juliet's Nurse, played by Bonita Agan, with a sly, double-dealing wit that grounds the play in earthy practicality. Jon Van Middlesworth is a clever, clownish Peter. Friar Laurence, played by Matt Bradford Sullivan and introduced wearing tropical whites and tending an herb garden, has a sweet, high-minded idealism that leads to the fateful finale of murder and double suicide.
Bob Devin Jones, as the Prince, brings superb authority to his speeches trying to broker an uneasy peace between the feuding Capulets and Montagues. Mark Chambers' Lord Capulet has the vocal weight and fluency of an orator. Matthew Lunsford's Tybalt sports a rich English accent.
The actors are equipped with face mikes, and Ken Travis' sound design was good on a relatively still Friday evening under the stars, except for one conspicuous glitch, when Tresser's mike cut out for a spell during the balcony scene.
Because Romeo and Juliet is an uncomplicated, accessible play, which the audience will have little trouble following, it offers an opportunity for distinctive, abstract design. Goldberg and his production team have given it a dark, foreboding look, set in in no particular time or place, though the knife fighting scene between Tybalt and Mercutio suggests a milieu not unlike Gangs of New York.
Troy Hourie's set, dusky blue with gold trim, boasts a faded, peeling picture of gods and godesses. Juliet's balcony is like one on a beachfront high-rise. Jason Lyons' lighting is nicely understated. Minimal props serve multiple purposes, such as Romeo and Juliet's marriage bed, which becomes her platform in the tomb.
Olivera Gajic's costumes run the gamut, from thrown-together downtown chic, such as the lacy slip Juliet wears over brown pants with pink ballet slippers, to Mercutio's outlandish red leather pants and sheepskin chaps.
One of Shakespeare's themes is the vitality and energy of the young, in contrast to the ineffectualness of the old, and that is reflected in Lord Capulet's getup as a sort of decadent thug, draped in jewelry.
Although Romeo and Juliet is not a musical, that's not to say there's no music. Composer Fitz Patton has provided an eclectic collection of incidental music and underscoring (all on tape) that is uncannily right in creating moods, such as the eery mechanical sounds when Mercutio is stabbed. The dance music at the Capulets' ball makes a fantastic impact, with choreographer Paulette Walker Johnson's dancers bathed in red light, writhing sensually to a hypnotic pulse. At the end of the play, Massive Attack's Teardrop is an affecting epilogue. * * *
Kathy Foley, who died of breast cancer last week, was one of American Stage's mainstays, appearing in many shows at the theater. She was a steadfast friend and supporter of many actors and theater people through the years, a true woman of the theater. She was in a number of Shakespeare in the Park productions, including a memorable, hilarious turn as one of the "bad girls with great hair" in Two Gents in 1994. Fittingly, there will be a memorial for her at 7 tonight at Demens Landing.
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Review
Romeo and Juliet runs through May 11 at Demens Landing, St. Petersburg. Show time is 8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Blanket tickets range from $9 to $20. Reserved chairs are $22. High school and college students with ID can purchase general admission tickets for $5 for the Wednesday show only. Box office opens at 5:45 p.m. Call (727) 823-7529 or visit www.americanstage.org.