Romeo and Juliet at the Guthrie
On a whim last Wednesday night, my roommate and I decided that it was about time we got a little cultured. So, being the broke college students we are, we bought two tickets to the cheapest showing of Romeo and Juliet at the Guthrie Theater that we could find (which happened to be the following evening). Though I have always found William Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet to be painfully overdramatic and annoying, the performance at the Guthrie directed by Joseph Haj turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable experience.
The second we walked into the Wurtele theater, it was clear that this was going to be a (for lack of a better description) super fancy show. It was a thrust stage, so the set protruded out into the audience. It was a beautifully detailed cobblestone street with a running fountain (yes, REAL water), brick buildings, and a clock with hands that actually moved around the face. The set was exquisite, and would have housed an original and authentic version of Romeo and Juliet perfectly. This was the kind of show that I was expecting.
However, the second that the show began, my roommate and I turned to each other and burst out laughing. As the lights began to dim and the set came to life, there was a loud blare of what sounded like rock music, and 3 characters that appeared to belong either on the set of American Idiot or the backstreets of Chicago jumped out from behind the quiet clocktower. Though the language maintained William Shakespeare’s original text, the words were spoken with a casual and thug-like vernacular that, for reasons that I can’t seem to put my finger on, melded together quite harmoniously. The rest of the show maintained the mix of modernity (rock music and leather jackets) with the classic Shakespearean motif (swordfights and masquerades).
The actors themselves did well in their roles, for the most part. Romeo (played by Ryan James-Hatanka) did a fantastic job of displaying the angsty and depressed teenager. He then transitioned into a perky, desperately in love young man with ease. James-Hatanka was very fun to watch.
Another actress that seemed to fit her role to perfection was the Nurse, played by Candace Barrett Birk. She embodied the comical nurse in the way that she babbled, laughed, even walked about the stage. She and Potpan (played by the University’s own Corey Farrell) shared many silent comical moments that added lightness and humor to Shakespeare’s original play.
Though I loved both the Nurse and Romeo, my very favorite character in this play by far was Mercutio, played by Kelsey Didion. In an artistic twist, a woman was cast in the role that is usually given to a man as Romeo’s best friend. The program simply stated that they did this because Kelsey had the best audition of anyone else that went for the role. Pronouns were changed so that it was acknowledged that she was a “she” as opposed to a “he” by all characters. Despite this, Didion seemed to be just “one of the guys” with Romeo and Benvolio. I thankfully didn’t sense any uncomfortable romantic tension between Romeo and Mercutio that can sometimes come up between male and female characters. Mercutio had a very relaxed and fun aura about her that brought life to any scene that she was in. The only problem that I found in her performance came during the fight scenes. The moment her sword made contact with Tybalt’s, all of her personality was gone. The movements were stiff, forced, and very clearly choreographed. It seemed as though she was so focused on getting the moves right that she forgot to continue acting. However, the rest of her performance was so phenomenal that I was able to look past the subpar scene.
The atmosphere during the show helped to create anticipation, identify characters, and move along the plot. Each character had their own theme music that played right before they took the stage. Even the two families had very different motifs so that the audience could differentiate between the two. The Capulets maintained an aura of tradition and formailty, while the Montagues were much more casual with rock music announcing their entrances.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable show, despite being only a preview performance. I would highly recommend going to see it before it’s over.
