Garrison, NY — Romance and love stories are two different things. In art, we are not good at differentiating.
The corpse-ridden romantic tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” is routinely mistaken for the deepest love story, despite the teenagers the lovers have just met. Likes and dislikes of others, dreams and history.
They are certainly passionate. Isn’t everyone of that age? However, the reckless youth of “Romeo and Juliet”, the title character and some of his friends, die on their own impulse. They are not old enough to know better than killing each other with anger on the street, or agree on a barbaric plan that involves falsely burying their own death in a real grave.
Gay Taylor Up Church Staging — On Friday night Hudson Valley Shakespeare FestivalUnderneath the canopy of a familiar tent, the new 98-acre riverside location represents a tragedy as a twisted love story. Romeo and Juliet are played by Kurt Rhodes and Nance Williamson, festival regulars who are actors who have been married for 38 years and have performed 68 shows together. Obviously, in what background, the central idea of this work is falsely dependent.
“There are Kurt and Nance in the title role,” Upchurch wrote in his program notes, using ampersands, similar to the title of her work. “It’s no wonder Romeo and Juliet really love each other.”
Even if we could, and I don’t think we could, that assumption is driven by the urgency of fresh desires, as if guided by Lawrence’s advice. “Love moderately” would be terribly useless to the drama played here in the wrath of a long acquaintance. So the spark-like charm between Romeo and Juliet ignites the embers of warmth, not heat, rather than the fierce fire.
The downside is not in the chronologically discordant cast. The audience is so sophisticated that the age of the actor does not catch the eye.And in the summer with Ian McKellen Back again In addition to the title role of “Hamlet,” which he last played on stage a year ago, at the age of 82, other skilled actors may want to challenge Shakespeare’s youth interpretation.
The graceful choral music of Upchurch by Heather Christians, along with the stunningly patterned outfits by Ember Chakartash, is one of the most fascinating features of the piece. However, Upchurch hasn’t built a frame to support her ageless casting or unraveled her conceit. The idea feels coerced rather than organic — it makes sense rather than providing it.
Romeo and Juliet, young men still under the roofs of their parents, are taking drastic steps to take control of their lives and future. But peaceful Rhodes and Williamson seem to warn these teens not to stop for rational thinking, being idealistic enough to resist their family’s hatred of each other. Does not infuse the feelings of the tsunami.
Without that obvious, desperate, hormonal cocktail recklessness, their actions are meaningless. And if we don’t believe in the character, the play loses its stake and its weight. The line was about childbirth imposed on a girl, as when Lady Capulet, a solid Britney Nicole Simpson, urged Juliet, almost 14 years old, to marry her suitor, Paris. It may be guts, but in the context of this one production, it simply evaporates.
But Paris (Erin Despanie) is interesting. She is very amiable and therefore she is rarely sympathetic. You feel a little sick of the man because he is innocently looking forward to his wedding. And even if Kimberly Chatterjee’s fascinating Julia Lawrence did not succeed in ending his own prestigious purpose, the conflict between Caplet and Montague, in a plan to disguise his crazy death. , He is one of the more completely inhabited characters.
A temporary tent at the foot of a sloping hill, the set is just a chair. It will soon be replaced by a permanent open-air theater designed by a studio gang. It offers views of the Hudson River. Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s former home on the nearby grounds, a view that festival attendees have enjoyed for decades. Bosco Bell House and Gardens..
The background is gone for now, but there’s a regular soft sand stage floor that allows spectators to walk through on their way to their seats. Also, it has not been changed comfortably. The scenery outside the tent is skillfully used as a playground. After fatally injuring Romeo’s friend Mercutio (Lewiskintero), Juliet’s cousin Tybalt (Zoegoslin) escapes to the hills, where dramatic side lighting (according to Stacey Delogier) damages him from a distance. Investigate. Upchurch works well with such tableau.
Covid-19 cases in-house delayed the opening night of this “Romeo & Juliet”. When they arrived, the two actors were wearing face masks on stage. It is impossible to know how much the collapse of the disease hindered the depth of characterization of this work.
But time to alchemize the core elements that reject fusion, such as the on-stage fiction of Romeo and Juliet’s devastating romance and the behind-the-scenes reality of the devoted love of two veteran actors. There wouldn’t have been more.
Romeo & Juliet
Until September 18th at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Garrison, NY. hvshakespeare.org.. Execution time: 2 hours and 45 minutes.
