Romeo and Juliet

Men’s Eyes Were Made To Look, So Look Someplace Else or Wherefore? No Seriously, Wherefore?

'Seriously, why are we doing this?' William Sturdivant (Mercutio) and Sonny Valicenti (Romeo). Photo courtesy Guthrie Theater

First it has to start with an apology- I am sorry that I included the Guthrie/Acting Company production of Romeo & Juliet on the list of recommended shows for this winter season. I only hope that by attending early and reviewing honestly I can stop any further damage that may occur by paying audiences actually attending this production. Here is the rationale behind it’s inclusion in the first place- the same company was coming off last year’s Henry V in the Dowling Studio, a stripped down, muscular production that did get to the heart of the text and displayed the talents of young actors. Penny Metropulos, who came in to direct Romeo & Juliet had long been associate artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where Shakespeare has to be approachable and entertaining to survive, and a fresh batch of young actors, some of whom came from the Guthrie BFA program couldn’t go too wrong, right?

But oh how wrong it goes. As the Prince declares in his final speech, “Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished:” and it is punishment that should abound for this production, starting with the setting and ending with the deaths. If Shakespeare is to remain vital, then a production either needs to find a way to say something different with the same text or find an innovative way to re-phrase the same story. By plopping Romeo & Juliet into 1920s-era villa, Metropulos’ production does neither of these things; instead it constrains the actors into a mannered and stilted setting that seemed to be an opportunity to re-use some costumes from The Great Gatsby. The interstitial music used to transition scenes and set the mood for the death and fight scenes is as cheesy as EasyMac and as canned as tuna, not to mention too loud- although that might just be an opening night oversight.

Those two elements alone would be enough to detract from the stated intent of bringing the language of Shakespeare to a new audience- the production is supported by the Shakespeare for a New Generation initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts- if only the actors themselves weren’t so busy mangling the language. The setting directs the actors all to affect some form of highbrow elocution, but no-one seems to fully agree how far to go with their “Shakespeare voices” (Christine Weber as Lady Capulet is especially distinct in her casual endings, making it seem like she rolled out of bed and threw on a costume) resulting in a cacophonous muddle of sloppy diction and direction. The few characters who do seem comfortable with the language are not ones who have sustained speaking roles- Myxolydia Tyler as Perrin (an amalgam of Capulet servants) has the most nimble elocution, the supreme irony of that being that she is supposed to be illiterate – and veteran actor Raymond L. Chapman (by far the oldest actor on stage) as Friar Laurence benefits from years of experience such that when he becomes angry at Romeo in Act III, it actually comes across as a palpable emotion, something sadly lacking in the rest this production.

Sonny Valicenti as Romeo and Laura Esposito as Juliet both seem to function on a soap opera level of either flat affect or histrionics throughout, and the play progresses without much chemistry between them. There is nothing in either performance to suggest any passions that would drive young lovers to such extremes as they deliver the text as if, as Friar Laurence chides, they “read by rote and could not spell.” Romeo & Juliet always runs a danger of being a parody of emotion and Valicenti and Esposito push their self-seriousness obliviously into that territory, so that when they end themselves, we welcome the respite. William Sturdivant (who was part of the cast last year for Henry V) has fun with Mercutio, as the actor should, chewing up the Queen Mab speech and generally being gregarious but neither Isaac Woofter as Tybalt nor Hugh Kennedy as Benvolio develop the personalities of the characters past some foppish frippery. It is disheartening to see what should be passionate young actors flopping about in this bland and disorganized world that never moves past basic high-school conventions.

Shakespeare ought to be presented to new generations because there is poetry and rhythm in his text that not only developed the English language but also set a standard for it. Passions, argumentation, betrayal, love, these themes of existence will find resonances across ages and cultures, if presented in a way that allows them to be opened and accessed- and it can be done, I’ve seen it. Tone-deaf, pointless and artless productions such as this one though, especially on the professional level, are what Shakespeare ought to be saved from, not saved for.