Romeo (Dan Clegg) visits Juliet (Rebekah Brockman) at her balcony in Cal Shakes’ production of “Romeo & Juliet.” Photo: Kevin Berne
ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare. Directed by Shana Cooper. California Shakespeare Theatre (CalShakes), Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda. (510) 548-9666. www.calshakes.org. July 6-28, 2013.
Rebekah Brockman is a brilliant Juliet at Cal Shakes
Director Shana Cooper and Amanda Dehnert are cast from the same mold. Dehnert shamelessly confesses at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival “Life isn’t neat and theater isn’t clean,” Life is messy, so should theater be. You should see where the lights hang, see the clothes being put on and taken off, see how people transform through the power of imagination.” Cooper may not have taken a page from Dehnert’s book but her reimagining of Romeo and Juliet accepts those precepts and Cal Shakes production is proof of the observation.
The stage is bare wooden planking with miscellaneous props on the outer perimeter including an upright piano, a wheelbarrow, a tall wooden stepladder, a table resembling disco paraphernalia and a cot bed. Even before the virtual curtain is to rise the cast dressed in non-descript costumes stand on center stage while the perfunctory pre-show festivities are dispensed with. I guess that is sufficient information that we are about to see a modern concept of our beloved Shakespearean play.
Cooper uniquely conceptualizes the play featuring a seven member ensemble cast playing all the roles with only Romeo (Dan Clegg) and Juliet (Rebekah Brockman) remaining in character. Stylistic fisticuffs replace sword play and each blow is emphasized with the crack of brick hitting brick. And that is just the first scene where Tybalt Capulet (Nick Gabriel) engages Mercutio Montaque (Joseph J. Parks) setting the scene for the further violence to come.
Early on, the piano and disco are put to use for the fateful meeting of R & J staged as a wild party given (thrown?) by the Capulets to introduce Paris (Gabriel again) ending with a love ballad with banal lyrics “I must have you and through with love etc.”). Erika Chong Shuch (listed as Movement director) must have had a ball (pardon the pun) staging that party.
Just when this audience member was ready to say “Enough, already, get on with the play!” the wooden step ladder is wheeled on stage and Rebekah Brockman delivers the balcony speech that is riveting and worthy of a Tony award. Cooper emphasizes the fact that Juliet is only 14 years old and Brockman nails the characterization. She is fresh from her stunning performance as Thomasina in A.C.T.’s production of Arcadia and adds further accolades to her curriculum vitae. Dan Clegg’s Romeo is only a partial match for Brockman’s superb Juliet.
In the supporting roles the always reliable Dan Hiatt stands out, first entering the stage as a supercilious servant, is charming as the Friar and is mesmerizing as the infuriated Lord Capulet insisting that Juliet marry Paris. Arwen Anderson does yeoman work as Benvolio, Lady Capulet and in the ensemble along with Dominigue Lozano as the nurse and Prince.
All the directorial conceits taking place on the bare stage have an unfortunate consequence: The death scene becomes anticlimactic and is further degraded by the staging of the lover’s burial. However, the lighting (Lap Chi Chu) and sound cues (Paul James Pendergast) for the final scene are brilliant with pillars of light surrounding the stage extending to the sky partially illuminating the beautiful trees and hills in the background. A great deal is cut from the script and running time about 2 hours and 20minutes including a 15 minute intermission.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.
