Jonathan Slaff

For never was a story of more woe: Kings County Shakespeare Company's production of "Romeo and Juliet" features Frank Smith as Romeo, and Lara Silva as Juliet.

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Blame it on the poor acoustics of the chapel at the First Unitarian Church. Blame it on the renovations at St. Francis College Founders Hall, which necessitated the temporary move. Blame it on the decision to use minimal sets and no stage lights to reflect original Shakespearean productions, performed during the day in natural light or in the evening by candlelight.

But none of that fully explains the incomprehensible cacophony and lackluster acting in Kings County Shakespeare Company’s "Romeo and Juliet."

The play is directed by Vicki Hirsch, a longtime member of KCSC, who has distinguished herself in principal roles that include Mrs. Malaprop in "The Rivals," Baptista in "The Taming of the Shrew" and Cariola in "The Duchess of Malfi." She has also served as acting coach for "The Rover" and assistant director for "The Tempest." Her directorial debut, however, is inauspicious.

Perhaps in recognition of Hirsch’s inexperience, Deborah Wright Houston, founder and artistic director of KCSC, has brought her expertise to this production as dramaturge and assistant director. But it doesn’t seem to have done much good.

Admittedly the acoustics in the "theater" would have made Sir Lawrence Olivier tremble. But instead of compensating for this deficit by speaking slowly and distinctly, the actors rush their lines, swallowing their words, almost as if they’re trying to get through the play so quickly no one will notice how awful it is.

What’s more, they either recite their lines stiffly or break out with inappropriate emotion - yelling or wailing so loudly their words bounce off the walls and become more painful than poetic.

In the role of Romeo, Frank Smith, with gold rings in each ear, looks like he wandered onstage from a singles bar and wasn’t sure how to get off until he ended up killing himself. His lover Juliet, Lara Silva, remains a whining 13-year-old until the end. She never grows into the woman who speaks Shakespeare’s magnificent words.

And then there’s Mercutio, Romeo’s hotheaded friend who starts all the trouble. Michael Hagins is not the first to try to take over the stage in the role. But considering the weakness of this Romeo, he probably succeeds better than do others. His antics, however, do not help the overall production.

The one ray of light could have come with the role of Juliet’s Nurse, a role happily given to a man, which only emphasizes the ridiculous nature of the character. But although Roger Dale Stude looks and acts every inch the scheming, pandering old lady, his words are mostly lost in the echo chamber.

In the director’s notes, Hirsch writes, "Old issues merge with contemporary issues in this version of ’Romeo and Juliet,’ where we get a sense of a world somewhere between then and now inside the timeless but universal world of Verona’s walls."

Unfortunately, the sloppy costuming (Houston gets the credit here) - from smoking jacket to suits and shorts to gowns - is more confusing than timeless. And it’s hard to see how the feuding families, the Capulets and Montagues, who are so indistinguishable from each other, can represent warring parties in the modern world.

While it has been done countless times, sometimes successfully (the 1961 film version of "West Side Story," which had Leonard Bernstein’s music and Jerome Robbins’ choreography set in Hell’s Kitchen, for example), to turn "Romeo and Juliet" into a morality play for modern times one needs to clearly define those times and the inherent tension. That is not achieved in KCSC’s current production.

Perhaps Kings County Shakespeare Company should have concentrated more on finding an appropriate venue and more capable actors wisely directed.

Kings County Shakespeare Company’s production of "Romeo and Juliet" plays through July 26, Mondays and Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm in the chapel at the First Unitarian Church (corner of Pierrepont Street and Monroe Place in Brooklyn Heights). Tickets are $15, seniors and students $7. For tickets, call Smarttix at (212) 868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com.

©2004 Community Newspaper Group