Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

The motto of ShakespeareNYC, now in its second season, is "Trust Shakespeare." And they certainly are trusting in their present offering of Romeo and Juliet. The production, directed and designed by Beverly Bullock, has no loud rock music or semiautomatic weapons. What one will find at Theater Row's Lion Theater is the tragic story of two young "star-crossed lovers" in 15th century Verona, as the Bard unfolds the tale in his most lyrical play.

The performance space is intimate, certainly a plus, and the accommodating set (with mandatory balcony) serves most of the action well; but at the preview performance I attended, there were some blocking and lighting problems yet to be solved. Nevertheless, the swordplay is executed well, and the choreography for the Capulet ball where Romeo and Juliet seal their fates is lovely.

The twenty-four cast members, with one exception, are appropriately attired and deliver the poetry of the play in a pleasing, if not always profoundly meaningful manner. Many of the supporting players in the tragedy do a fine job of moving the story along, including C. Daniel Barr as the hot-tempered Tybalt, Vanessa Elder as a stately Lady Capulet, Anthony Manna as the well-intentioned Friar Lawrence and James Beaman as Mercutio--relating the story of Queen Mab and wishing a curse on "both your houses." The plot-advancing incensed diatribes rendered by Nicolas Stannard (the Prince) and Geoffrey Dawe (Capulet) are arresting, but lowering their decibel levels and the addition of a bit more subtly could add other dimensions to their characters.

Sidney Fortner is endearing in the role of Nurse to Juliet by being caring, comic and ultimately betraying. Peter Richards' Romeo is a tender lover when with Juliet but, inappropriately garbed in gloomy-colored attire, too often seems like a melancholy Hamlet without "noble mind" or the princely demeanor.

But, alas, there is Juliet--Katherine Kelly Lidz. Ah, Juliet! She provides the emotional glue for the evening, first appearing as an obedient 13-year-old and as a wide-eyed teen learning of the prospects of marriage. Then we see her as a young girl who has fallen in love, an impulsive romantic, an ambivalent new bride, an abused daughter, a desperate individual having to make difficult choices and, ultimately, one of Shakespeare's most tragic women.

In attending this noble effort, one should not expect to see a production comparable to that of London's Royal Shakespeare Company, but one will experience a timeless love story and some of Shakespeare's most beautiful poetry, presented by an energetic and dedicated cast.