Over the years, the
Guthrie has established itself as the perfect place to see
Shakespeare
plays. The productions are always professional, the direction is on
point, and the company as a whole has shown tremendous attention to
detail. The staging of
Romeo and Juliet, done in collaboration with the
Acting Company, respects these traditions—a beautiful and very practical set designed by
Neil Patel, impeccable lights and sound—but it also comes up short in some other regards.
I suppose it is difficult to make such a timeless, extremely well-known
story exciting for a contemporary audience. Where does the drama come
from when we all know who dies and what happens in the end? It has to
come from the emotion and energy exhibited by the actors. And for the
most part, they succeed in sustaining the drama on acting alone.
Laura Esposito’s
Juliet gets better with every scene, and really blossoms in the second
part. The playful and childish Juliet in the first part is not as
convincing as the passionate and tragic Juliet in the second part.
Esposito’s
progression culminates in a powerful monologue scene, in which she
effortlessly mixes hesitation, love, longing and fear. The same cannot
be said about her love interest, Romeo, played by
Sonny Valicenti.
He simply cannot match Juliet’s intensity in the second part, and there
is not enough chemistry between the title characters. On occasion, he
falls short even in scenes with secondary characters. For example,
Raymond L. Chapman,
playing Friar Lawrence, towers over Romeo in their scenes together.
Furthermore, in one of those scenes, as Romeo lies on the floor wailing
because of his longing, the audience’s reaction is laughter. Probably
not quite what Shakespeare had in mind.
However, there are other secondary parts that steal the spotlight.
Elizabeth Stahlmann
is energetic and vivacious as the Nurse in the first part, and then she
expands her range as the play progresses, much like Juliet. The two
women carry the play in the second part, especially since another
marvelous performance, Mercutio, played by
William Sturdivant,
has to exit right before intermission. Mercutio is loud and
occasionally obscene, which may be a departure from the original role,
but I think it works, especially because his lascivious behavior offers
some much needed comedic relief. The decision to play Mercutio as
overly mischievous takes away some of the real substance of the
original character, but I do like the idea of taking a few chances with
such a production, and for the most part, director
Penny Metropulos
makes the best of it. The beginning is even a better example of a
chance that translates really well onto the stage. All of the actors
creep out from behind the set and open up umbrellas. The narrative
voice that opens up the play is provided by multiple characters, and
the last few lines are actually delivered as a choir. Everyone in the
play comes together right from the start, all unified under the
protection of umbrellas, shielded from the bad things that are about to
happen. The scene is visually and aurally menacing, which is the ideal
way to start this tragedy. And even though the rest of the play does
not always match the inspired beginning, this version of “Romeo and
Juliet” is still adequate and worth seeing.
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