THE BASICS: ROMEO & JULIET by William Shakespeare, presented by Shakespeare in Delaware Park (SIDP), directed by Chris Kelly, starring Aidan Conklin and Erin Grace Kely in the title roles. July 27 – August 20, Tuesdays-Sundays nightly at 7:15 on “Shakespeare Hill” near the Rose Garden and the casino in Delaware Park. All performances are FREE, non-ticketed and open to the public, with donations gratefully accepted during intermission. Bring your own chair or blanket, picnics are encouraged. (716) 856-4533 www.shakespeareindelawarepark.org
Runtime: 2 – ½ hours with one intermission
THUMBNAIL SKETCH: (from shakespeare.org.uk): An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts into bloodshed as a group of masked Montagues risks further conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, who is supposed to marry her father’s choice, Paris. With the help of Juliet’s nurse, the women arrange for the couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to halt a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin, Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the Friar’s plot and fakes her own death. The message fails to reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life in her tomb. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside her and kills herself. The grieving family agree to end their feud.
If you’d like to read the edited “cut script” it’s available on the SIDP website, and you can access it here.
THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: As usual with anything Chris Kelly directs, there will be a lot of well-choreographed action and you’ll come away feeling that you’ve seen something familiar for the first time. In this production, as Kelly explains in his director’s note, once when he was directing a high school production of ROMEO AND JULIET, he “was astonished. The rash decisions, changes of heart, violent acts, and reckless abandon the characters exhibit, made sense in a way it never had to me before. I’d watch the scenes and say, ‘Of course they’d do this… they are kids.’”
The stage (David Dwyer, set designer) looks like a surf shop, and the “kids” are often in surfer gear (Todd Warfield, Costume Designer; Amy Reich, Costume Assistant) and the boys are often shirtless. The choreography has spirit (Bobby Cooke) and the action is quite athletic (Steve Vaughan, fight choreographer). Staying with the spirit of youth and keeping things focused and fresh the music (Ed Hallborg, Music/Sound Design; Sound Playback, Briege Lennon) was all by local artists listed in the program as follows: Aircraft, Adam Putzer, Billy Hough, Brandon Barry, David Muntner, DREAM DREAM, Frank Turner, garageDogs, Joe Donohue, Justin John Smith, Marina Laurendi, Mike Santillo, The Albrights, The Midnight, The Tins. If there were a CD (okay, okay, a download) available of the music, I’d buy it.
Juliet as played by Erin Grace Kelly, who is IRL a college graduate, was able to convey “14-year-old girl” more believably than one often sees on stage. It makes her decisions more credible, at first not wanting to get married (to Paris) for at least two more years and then marrying Romeo after they’ve known each other for fewer than 24 hours. This led to one scene that I, as a parent, enjoyed deliciously, and that’s when her father (Lord Capulet as played by Mike Garvey) just explodes in anger at her refusal to just… do… what… she’s… told! I like to think that every parent in the audience thought “Oh, yeah. Been there. Done that.”
Her counterpart, Romeo as played by Aidan Conklin, consistent with Director Kelly’s vision, also came across as very young and innocent, in contrast to other Romeos who have been more worldly or macho. That was a refreshing difference. His buddy Mercutio as played by Adam Koda didn’t quite stand out as the “Mercurial” zany sidekick, mostly because everyone around him was pretty jumpy and full of manic energy too. His “Queen Mab” soliloquy wasn’t a poetic flight of fancy, but, then, I think he was consistent with the idea that these guys are really just kids.
Similarly, Tybalt as played by James Delano, didn’t quite stand out as the evil, menacing “bad boy” because he was more a gang member and less of an outsider. I must say that the fights, first between Tybalt and Mercutio, and second between Tybalt and Romeo, were freshly choreographed as MMA events.
Which brings us to the adults in the room, or on the stage, as it were, starting with a whole new take on Friar Lawrence as played by Chris Hatch, a priest who seems to run a dojo in the church, where, as the song (NOT in the production) says: “Everybody was kung fu fighting / Those cats were fast as lightning / In fact, it was a little bit frightening / But they fought with expert timing.” If nothing else, it was a good excuse to reprise his open-shirted look as Oberon from last season’s AMSND. I don’t know what gym Hatch works out at, but he’s getting his money’s worth.
Also switching it up a bit, the character Montague, usually Romeo’s “dad,” was played by Caitlin Coleman, as his shop-owning mother. I liked that the Nurse was played by Pamela Rose Mangus, who often takes on “tough old broad” roles, because she’s really a driver of the action in this play, and Mangus makes it believable that a nurse would act so defiantly against Lord and Lady Capulet. And I loved that Rick Lattimer played the Prince. Lattimer often plays characters who are “haunted” (and he does that brilliantly) so casting him as the Prince who decrees that any more street fighting will result in banishment or possibly even death, makes it seem quite possible.
And, for the record, fine performances abound with actors we’ve seen many times on other stages. Benvolio is played by Kris Bartolomeo, Abraham is played by Brent Hetrick, Balthazar is played by Shawn Adiletta. Lady Capulet is played by Marie Costa, Sampson is played by Sam Fesmire, Gregory is played by Ayden Herreid, and Paris is played by David Wysocki.
You may think “Oh, I’ve seen Romeo & Juliet” but you’ve never seen it like this. You don’t want to miss it. Pack your picnic bag, grab those beach chairs, and enjoy this fine Buffalo tradition.
Lead image: (L to R) Pamela Rose Mangus (Nurse), Erin Grace Kelly (Juliet), Marie Costa (Lady Capulet), Mike Garvey (Lord capulet)
*HERD OF BUFFALO (Notes on the Rating System)
ONE BUFFALO: This means trouble. A dreadful play, a highly flawed production, or both. Unless there is some really compelling reason for you to attend (i.e. you are the parent of someone who is in it), give this show a wide berth.
TWO BUFFALOS: Passable, but no great shakes. Either the production is pretty far off base, or the play itself is problematic. Unless you are the sort of person who’s happy just going to the theater, you might look around for something else.
THREE BUFFALOS: I still have my issues, but this is a pretty darn good night at the theater. If you don’t go in with huge expectations, you will probably be pleased.
FOUR BUFFALOS: Both the production and the play are of high caliber. If the genre/content are up your alley, I would make a real effort to attend.
FIVE BUFFALOS: Truly superb, a rare rating. Comedies that leave you weak with laughter, dramas that really touch the heart. Provided that this is the kind of show you like, you’d be a fool to miss it!