As the headstrong young men of the Capulet and Montague enemy families snarl and face each other while straining in back-to-back chairs, this Romeo and Juliet looks to be like the West Side Story from which the start of this production takes inspiration. But the Montagues get short shrift poetically (Mercutio is cut more than one way in this adaptation), and with Lucy Lavely’s Juliet taking over while Jefferson McDonald’s Romeo stays just a pretty good-natured guy, the play becomes a rushed romance gone wrong.
Cale Haupert makes Benvolio and Lord Capulet vary only slightly, and Lady Capulet is thus sorely missed. With practically no lines, Zlatomir Moldovanski’s Mercutio seems less important than his other three characters, notably a worthy Friar Laurence. Maxey Whitehead makes a shrinking Tybalt but the Nurse is properly bawdy and also substitutes for the lack of Juliet’s mother.
Of course, Lucy Lavely best handles what little poetry is left in the adaptation in favor of its lot of kissing, which the adapters may feel “sells” the play to students. I would have preferred more sword fighting because what’s done is done well. I think young people will be pleased to get out of a regular class and see this, but it would be nice if they’d also go to the current film for a better feeling of the original.
