Displaying items by tag: Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare’s R & J is another demonstration of just how brilliant William Shakespeare truly was, is, and ever will be. Romeo & Juliet has captivated audiences since the 16^th century. The story of the star-crossed lovers is universal, appealing to audiences from all walks of life, and stanzas from the work (e.g. ‘star-crossed lovers’) have become recognizable as allegories. Chicago’s abundant theatrical venues have given us myriad reworkings of Romeo & Juliet, proving over and over that the Bard’s works are endlessly adaptable.

But you’re not here to be sold on Shakespeare as a playwright, right? You already had that. What I’m here to say is that, though we’ve all seen many variations of Romeo & Juliet, Joe Calarco’s Shakespeare’s R & J presented the old chestnut with a twist I personally hadn’t seen before; a twist that director Amber Mandley further bent into a singular new production.

All Shakespeare’s work was, of course, originally played by all-male casts: male actors playing both male and female roles. Adaptations of his works have been stage with extensive diversity of gender-bending (it’s a wonder MAGA’s not yet banned his work!); I’ve seen many variations that were truly brilliant. Romeo & Juliet provides abundant material for presentation as an exegesis of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, politics … a wealth of lenses through which to view this enduring, universal and endlessly adaptable story.

Calarco’s Shakespeare’s R & J was originally envisioned with an all-male cast, set in an exclusive boys’ prep school, and PrideArts’ Artistic Director Jay Españo initially planned to produce it thus. However, various adjustments and scheduling conflicts resulted in PrideArts’ Managing Director Amber Mandley taking the director’s chair, and she was eager to bring more female roles to PrideArts’ stage, and she situated Shakespeare’s R & J in a Catholic girls’ school, with adolescent girl characters. Co-Assistant Directors Elissa Wolf and Magdiel Carmona brought further depths of cultural diversity and familiarity into the directorial discernment.

The four girls are designated only as Student 1 (Madelyn Strasma), Student 2 (Luz Espinoza), Student 3 (Hannah Eisendrath) and Student 4 (Isabel Lee Roden).  Their individuality was further obscured by Costume Designer Shawn Quinlan dressing them in matching school uniforms: skimpy pink pleated skirts, spit-shined black patent oxfords, pink vests and jumpers under pink cardigans and blazers, though each differentiated herself (as they do) with a slightly different vest etc. It wasn’t necessary though – the 4 actresses each created their own unique and indelible impression!

Nga Sze Chan had a helluva lot of props to keep track of, all of them oft-used: a blanket is transformed from a bed to a bridal veil; a length of red silk represents a honeymoon suite or an exsanguination, and a cane is deployed to run Mercutio through – said skewering nicely choreographed by James Napoleon Stone. Shakespeare’s R & J relied heavily on Lighting Designer August Tiemeyer to set the mood and spotlight particular events; both he and Sound Designer Valerio Torretta Gardner were well-supported by Lead Electrician Aidan Lynn Smith. And Stage Manager Elijah McTiernan managed to keep everyone and everything coherent and harmonious.

Luz Espinoza was a cuddlesome, ardent little Juliet – maybe a bit of a slapper, but delightfully so. Romeo as played by Madelyn Strasma was far less convincing a lover – or maybe there simply wasn’t sufficiently torrid chemistry between them. It didn’t seem to be an actual shortcoming for either the actors or Intimacy Director Grace Goodyear, they simply didn’t ignite one another. All the actors had to be agile and sprightly as they cavorted and wrestled, gamboled and dueled, but Isabel Lee Roden’s vivacity and marvelous comedic bearing were exceptional – this was their debut with PrideArts and they’re definitely a keeper! Hannah Eisendrath came across as a ringleader, the mastermind and instigator of the group’s revelry, and she carried this sense of dominance across all the roles she played, from Lady Capulet to Mercutio.

Shakespeare’s R & J is about breaking rules – after all, that’s what teenagers do, right? Forbidding anything at all – a book; a curfew; a lover – guarantees that adolescents will flock to it. In Shakespeare’s R & J we watch these four girls become caught up in the Montague – Capulet antipathy to enact their rebellion against the austerity of a convent school.

I do wish that theme had been fleshed out more. Romeo & Juliet was presented beautifully, the acting by all four of the cast excellent. It ain’t easy to deliver iambic pentameter fluently, and Madelyn Strasma, Luz Espinoza, Hannah Eisendrath and Isabel Lee Roden all performed superbly.  I just wish Mandley, Carmona and Wolf had contrived to show us a deeper look at Students 1, 2, 3, and 4:  four girls navigating the perils of adolescence within the suffocating strictures of a private Catholic girls’ school; four Students with enough acumen and moxie to defy the rules through the medium of a fifteenth-century Harlequin romance. Four girls who, through embodying people dead for four millennia, begin to perceive and explore their own developing bodies and greedy, voracious little minds; four girls becoming women vicariously through women who never lived, yet who live within every woman and man … such a rich vein to mine there!

Yet I walked out without a full understanding of why these four Students chose to flout the rules by reading a banned book, or why they chose Romeo & Juliet, of all the banned books (un)available. I’m not clear on just why Students 1, 2, 3, and 4 decided to enact the play rather than simply read it, and what impact this reenactment had on their developing minds, emotions, and sexuality … though certainly none of them appeared to be squicked by kissing their classmate(s)!

So, though PrideArts’ production of Shakespeare’s R&J was excellent, it was also basically unsatisfying. But I’m an optimist … I look forward to seeing what Jay Españo and Amber Mandley will bring to PrideArts’ next season!

Shakespeare’s R&J plays at PrideArts’ Theatre through March 24

A tragic Shakespearian tale of Romeo and Juliet set to the music of a Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev is brought to Chicago Harris theatre by The National Ballet Theatre of Odessa (Ukraine).

 A ballet in two acts, it starts out rather slow. Dancers are mostly standing around, and a sense of a theatre, rather than ballet, is conveyed. This low energy feel is not helped by the dull uniform-like color palette of the costumes and unexciting set decorations [of predominantly burgundy]. Luckily, the first scene features multiple quarrels between the servants, which escalate to a brawl, bringing some much-needed energy to the stage. We get our first look at lovely Juliet, who is most certainly the star of the show. 

Choreographed by Michael Lavrovsky, overall, Odessa’s Romeo and Juliet has a very traditional feel, full of reliable dance moves but not too many thrills for the Chicago Harris Theatre’s spoiled audience. Regardless, it does have some nice parts, all of them seemingly saved for the Second Act.

Alas, Act Two has a lot more sparkle. Events are set in motion, the pace is picked up and, to our delight, we get another major infusion of Romeo’s friend, red-headed Mercutio (danced by Nikolay Vorivodin), who is unquestionably the liveliest dancer of the troupe and, frankly, one of its most memorable. His spirited energy lights up every scene he’s in, and that’s a really good thing for this sleepy production. In his last performance he dances out a sword fight, churning out acrobatic- inspired moves, while remaining playfully graceful. Farewell, Mercutio, we’ll miss you.  

Odessa’s National Ballet Theatre features some very fine performers in Romeo and Juliet. Olga Vorobiova, who dances the part of Juliet, is absolutely outstanding. A world class ballerina, she is gracefully fluid and highly expressive. Her partner Stanislav Skrynnik (Romeo) is a very capable dancer, perfectly executing his role in the ballet as a support for Vorobiova during the couple’s love scenes. One of the most impressive scenes in the ballet is Romeo and Juliet last embrace; it’s absolutely gorgeous. Ahh, Romeo and Juliet, fused together in an expression of love and devotion; it brings tears to one’s eyes.

So…a theatre, a rock band and a production company got together and decided to put a show together. Only this wasn’t just a theatre, it was Den Theatre, one of the most experimental and influential theatres in Chicago today. Nor was this just any production company. Jacaranda Collective is a theatre company, led by the out-of-the-box vision of artistic Sam Bianchini and associate artistic director Halie Robinson director, both who thrive on passionate and provocative storytelling, and the team responsible for this year’s outstanding production of “My Name is Rachel Corrie”. And The Family Crest is not your average band. Instead they are an orchestral indie rock band, led by Liam McCormick, that takes its listeners on a different journey with each song. Together, we have the perfect team of collaborators to pull off ‘Romeo and Juliet: The Spectacular Retelling of the World’s Greatest Love Story’. 

Performed in the largest of Den Theatre’s spaces, the audience is seated to form a three-quarters theatre-in-the-round, a stage for the band sitting at one end. The actors flow freely, not neglecting a single space in the theatre, as the Shakespeare’s story of Romeo and Juliet is beautifully told in both acting and in songs performed by The Family Crest. 

‘Romeo and Juliet: The Spectacular Retelling of the World’s Greatest Love Story’ revisits the classic tale of two young lovers, Romeo Montague (Alex Quinones) and Juliet Capulet (Halie Robinson), that fall in love despite the hatred that lies between their families. The unique play received an added boost with a live band accompaniment that really takes the story to another level. Several scenes had the San Francisco-based band perform wistful songs from their Beneath the Brine and The War: Act I albums, as the actors would join in with choreographed dance movements that perfectly synced with the dreamy sounds, creating a multi-sensory sensation that can only be had in this one-of-a-kind production. In all, we get a masterpiece of a story that is executed to perfection in its own original way thanks to its talented direction, cast and band.

The production also injects its own modern twists and sense of humor into the play’s dialogue - crowd favorite Mercutio (wonderfully played by Kade Cox) donned in drag and sharp, whimsical musings often spewed from the mouth of Juliet. Yet, at the same time, the play never loses the integrity of Shakespeare’s work of art as it was intended. The love was as refreshing as we have always experienced and the tragedy just as heartbreaking.

Here as a special three-day event, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ ends on a much higher note that we are accustomed, the theatre transforming into a concert hall as The Family Crest treats the audience to a live performance that includes songs from previous recordings and upcoming album The War: Act II. 

Theatre and Family Crest fans can only hope this production returns in the not-so-distant future – and maybe, just maybe that will happen. Near the show’s end, the fantastically Family Crest frontman, Liam McCormick asked attendees if they would like to see this show return to Chicago.

The answer – an unequivocal, enthusiastic “HELL YES!”

On the 400th year anniversary of William Shakespeare's death Lyric Opera of Chicago appropriately chose to commemorate the famed playwright’s life by putting on an outstanding production of Romeo and Juliet. Helping to make this such a special piece of operatic theatre, Joseph Calleja and Susanna Phillips as the tragically famous lovesick couple do a magnificent job vocally and emotionally throughout the show to bring the real spirit of youthful, love at first sight to life. 

The show begins with the stage curtain up and the entire cast ominously moves towards the audience singing the overture which was very effective in setting the tone of the times the play is set in. 

Soprano Susanna Phillips, perfectly complimenting tenor Calleja, is especially great in her role. Dressed all in pink with gold sparkles, she embodies the very essence of springtime love in her opening number.  When, at one point, she begs her nanny to stop talking about her impending marriage to an older man that Juliet does not love you really want her to get her wish, as her fresh hopeful desire to just dance and enjoy life is very infectious.

Joshua Hopkins as Romeo’s best pal Mercutio and Jason Slayden as Juliet’s short-fused cousin Tybalt also take to their roles with vigor and precision, really capturing the two sworn enemies’ disdain for each other while baritone Christian Van Horn is well cast as Friar Laurence, who means well though his efforts only end in tragedy.   

I loved ALL the costumes by Jennifer Tipton!  The rich, fabrics and colors, her hats and accessories for the women brought the whole stage to life. Also, the swashbuckling style of leather and velvet for the men was extremely entertaining and fitting to watch both their swordplay and Romeo’s lovemaking to Juliet.

Michael Yeargan's unit set is foreboding and appropriately towers over the cast as if to say there is no escape from this time period and its rules. However, I was looking forward to several set changes. Instead, the central platform served as a ballroom dance floor, Friar Laurence's cell, a town square and the crypt where the young couple meet their fate. I felt this modern touch of using a single large white sheet to signify Juliet's bedroom, then the church, and the burial shroud, etc., etc., was very one dimensional. The cast, so visually stunning, is so large even the hefty set seemed to barely contain them in various scenes. Still, overall, the production is a grand spectacle that is as colorful and enchanting as it is memorable.

Directed with fierce and daring force by Bartlett Sher, the Tony Award-winning Broadway director who's making his Lyric debut with this French piece by Charles Gounod, Romeo and Juliet succeeds marvelously on many levels. Of course this can only be accomplished with the comprehensive orchestral conducting of Emmanuel Villaume, who leads the often powerful and sometimes dreamy soundtrack to create a truly hauntingly tragic yet beautiful experience.  The romanticism of the writing is so beautiful, so poetic, I found myself watching the screen high above the stage trying to memorize some of the pure poetry as the play went along. The lines of love and adoration spoken by Romeo and Juliet to each other were so exquisitely written, I have never seen an American adaptation of this or any love story which compares to this poetic version of the play.

No spoilers but there is a slight change to the ending scene that might throw off a few viewers but I still found it quite enjoyable. 

This is a perfect opera to take your date to for an evening of romance that will thrill and delight. Your children will love this show because it renders the story of forbidden love and the destruction of such love because of unforgiving, ignorant family feuding and brings it to life in a compassionate and ever so romantic way.

Romeo and Juliet is being performed at Lyric Opera of Chicago through March 19th and is sure to please the casual and more adventurous theatre and opera lovers alike. For more information on this piece so wonderfully adapted for stage, visit www.LyricOpera.org.