[NEohioPAL] Berko review: ROMEO AND JULIET @ Great Lakes Theatre

[Roy Berko]

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*Juliet shines in Great Lakes Theatre’s ROMEO AND JULIET *



Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association and Cleveland Critics Circle)



ROMEO AND JULIET, the tale of star-crossed lovers, is considered one of
Shakespeare’s great plays.  Filled with unbridled love, beautiful
illusions, conflict, plot twists, and an emotional ending, it has all the
elements of audience appealing theatre.



Interestingly, Shakespeare did not invent the plot for the play.  Poet
Arthur Brooks is credited with writing a tale of Romeus and Juliet in what
is often referred to as a “long plodding poem.”  Many of the story threads
in the Bard’s version, including the lovers meeting at a ball, their
instant love and secret marriage, Romeo’s fight with Juliet’s cousin, the
sleeping potion, and the eventual suicides, are all “stolen” from Brooks.   In
Shakespeare’s hands, however, the tale is not plodding.



The story centers on a feud between the families Capulet and Montague in
the city of Verona.  The play starts with a battle between servants of the
families and concludes with the end of the grudge.



In short, Romeo is in love with Rosaline.  Rosaline deflects his attention.
Benvolio, Romeo’s friend invites the melancholy youth to accompany him to a
feast in order for him to relieve his depression.  There Romeo sees the
fair Juliet, instantly falls in love, his affections are returned by the
lovely teen and, thus, a tale of forbidden love and senseless, yet poetic
and dramatic deaths follow.



Great Lakes Theatre’s production of ROMEO AND JULIET, under the direction
of Charles Fee has many high points.   Betsy Mugavero is luminous as Juliet.
She perfectly develops the child/woman qualities needed.  She is as
irrational as a youth should be, hits the right level of being impetuous
and head strong, and makes Juliet totally believable.



Laurie Birmingham successfully textures the role of Nurse.  It becomes
readily apparent, due to Birmingham’s interpretation of the role, that
Juliet is the product of Nurse’s constant devotion.  The portrayal is
filled with compassion and humor.



Lynn Robert Berg nicely develops Friar Laurence into a wise and
understanding sage, helping the young lovers in their plotting.  J. Todd
Adams, is excellent as Mercutio, Romeo’s friend.  He has a nice flair for
comedy and the ironic.  Laura Perrotta is correctly passionate as Lady
Capulet, Juliet’s mother, avoiding the common mistake of some American
actors of overplaying Shakespeare.



The sword fight scenes, under the guidance of Ken Merckx, are exciting,
filled with acrobatics and clever movements, including participants hanging
from the scaffolding.  Star Moxley’s costume designs were appropriate and
the women’s garb elegant.  There is some nice plot heightening underscoring
music.  The pacing keeps the story flowing.



On the other hand, Fee, infuses verbal and nonverbal sexual innuendos that
distract from the plot line.  With a large number of students coming to
production, the titillation, which is unnecessary, seems inappropriate.



Aled Davis, as Juliet’s father, screamed his way through the role.  There
was little texturing, mainly unbridled volume.  In addition, the important
final scene of the play, in which the Friar summarizes the Bard’s message,
was drowned out by the overdone wailing of Melissa Owens, Romeo’s mother.



Yes, Romeo is supposed to be melancholy, but Christian Durso, so
underplayed the character, that the youth was almost devoid of personality.
There appeared to be no real passion between him and Juliet.  Even the
kisses were tepid.



A major visual and audio problem was created by scenic designer Gage
Williams’ set.  Because of the large mid stage heavy wall, and the small
size of the gate-entrance into the death vault, those audience members
seated stage right and left could neither see nor hear the important scene
between Romeo and Paris, just before the play’s conclusion.  A high school
student sitting behind me whispered to her friend, “What’s going on back
there?” That’s definitely not a good sign.  The set and blocking should
serve the play, not obliterate important scenes, especially the climactic
ones.

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*Capsule judgement:  ROMEO AND JULIET gets a credible performance at GLT,
highlighted by an enchanting performance by Betsy Mugavero as Juliet, good
pacing, and some fine supporting acting, but the production does have some
problematic elements.*

*Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001
through 2012, can be found at www.royberko.info. His reviews and commentary
can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and www.NeOHIOpal,
Broadwaynews.com and ArtsAmerica.org.*

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