If
you’ve ever watched a production of Romeo
and Juliet and thought that the lead actors really didn’t look the age of
their characters (13 for Juliet, maybe 16 or 17 for Romeo), then this
staging by the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival should be a treat.
Chronological
purists will appreciate that Miranda Coble, a soon-to-be high school senior,
plays Juliet and the not-much-older Cody Kilpatrick Steele is her main squeeze
Romeo. Their evident youth gives the play a raw, adolescent quality that brings
a freshness to the familiar yarn of a terminal teenage crush, even if their
line readings sometimes tend to be a tad abrupt and un-nuanced.
Older
actors handle most of the other parts, such as Robert Hawkes as the helpful yet
conflicted Friar Lawrence and Carol Laursen as a fairly one-note, grumbling
Nurse.
But director Tyson Douglas Rand allows his actors
to bulldoze many beats, squashing many familiar moments. Indeed, the beloved balcony
scene virtually disappears in a rush of hurried emotional turns. And other
scenes are read by the assembled actors more dutifully than meaningfully.
Hillary
Wheelock is a spitfire as Romeo’s devoted pal Mercutio. But she seems to have
visited this outdoor stage from another play entirely, sporting a
hell-for-leather attitude that doesn’t quite jibe with the rest of the
production.
One
witty touch in this modern dress version is glowering Ryan Edlinger’s appearance as the
Apothecary, er, drug dealer in a hoodie.
On
this night, there were also issues with the sound amplification that made some
of the early scenes hard to hear. But
regardless of quibbles, CleveShakes offers free Shakespeare, an outdoor setting, and cool CSF t-shirts for cheap. That should be enough to recommend a visit.
Romeo and Juliet
Through August 3, produced by the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. Go to cleveshakes.org for details.
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