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OH, ROMEO

OH, ROMEO
Jonathan Slaff

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.