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R&J: A Gender-Reversed Romeo and Juliet
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Actors Company at The Other Space
Through June 27
In Hannah Pell and Mary Ellen Schneider’s ambitious, but unsuccessful reimagining of the Bard’s tragedy, women are anything but the weaker vessels. Romeo becomes Romea (Schneider), and Juliet transforms into Julian (Dane Oliver), Benvolio-Benvolia (Pell) and so on.
With this sleight of hand, the streets of Verona take on a confusing haze here that never seems to lift throughout the course of this 90- minute play; it is very difficult at times to follow the story because of the reworked script. All told, the women do a good job in their male roles, but there is undeniably something strange about seeing a man standing atop a steamer chest, intoxicated by love, breathlessly delivering his lines during the famous balcony scene in reaction to the soft voice of a woman, or the talented, powerful Alan Blumenfeld bearing the mantle of nurse.
There are some redeeming elements here. Director Schneider’s threadbare staging benefits from solid performances, especially those of the principals, whose doomed love is the heart and soul of this play.
Thanks to Aaron Hendry and Mike Mahaffey’s choreography, the fight segments are well done. Perhaps the most memorable thing about this gender-swapping production is that it does bring into sharp relief the Bard’s timeless, transcendent vision about the mysteries of the heart.
The Actors Company at the Other Space, 916 Formosa Ave., W. Hlwyd; . https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/2379
Indians in a Box: Stories from the Indian Boarding School
Photo courtesy of Native Voices
Reviewed by Lovell Estell III
Native Voices at The Lounge Theater
Through June 28
RECOMMENDED:
“Kill the Indian in him, save the man.” These words from the founder of the Carlisle Indian School, Capt. William Pratt, became a wide-spread belief in the U.S. during the late 1800s when the government undertook the task of educating Native American children. Unfortunately, this process of “civilizing the savage” was sometimes as cruel and bloody as the near genocide and dislocation that preceded it.
This history is partly told in this engaging 70-minute show by director Robert Vestal and the nine member ensemble from Native Voices at The Autry. Using narrative testimony and historical documents, the show paints a vivid — and saddening — picture of the forced cultural, psychological and spiritual indoctrination of Native –American children, starting with a long ride in the “ iron box,” and culminating with residency in schools that were often hundreds of miles from their homes.
Bad enough that they were torn from their tribes and way of life, but the new status as “semi-savages,” subjected them to beatings, starvation, verbal abuse, and sometimes death, all for the purposes of civilizing them.
The show is divided into narrative segments from different schools and time periods. This starkly illustrates just how pervasive and dehumanizing this process was.
Native Voices at The Lounge Theater, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlywd.; https://hff15.org/2415
