Romeo and Juliet

Reviewed by Maureen Lee Lenker
Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum
Through October 2^nd

Of all Shakespeare’s plays, Romeo and Juliet — with its oft-cited love poetry and its plot recycled in films from West Side Story (1961) to Shakespeare in Love (1998) — is perhaps the most well-known. It’s also a favorite in high school drama clubs and English classes alike — a natural fit given its tale of impetuous street violence and passionate star-crossed lovers. Sadly, the latest production to hit Los Angeles as part of Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum summer repertory season is on par with the amateur and unpolished work often seen on high school stages.

The Theatricum Botanicum is recognized for their commitment to Shakespeare’s text, devoting hours and significant educational resources to teaching their actors the nuances of verse-speaking. This is one area where the production cannot be faulted — the actors speak with eloquence and clarity, making Shakespeare’s poetry accessible and understandable to Shakespeare novices and devotees alike. But it’s the part of the equation that makes his language really sing — the passion and fire behind the perfect elocution — that is lacking here. Speeches sound recited, and displays of emotion seem more like directed gesticulation than genuine outpourings of love, grief, etc. What’s more, choreographed moments, such as fight scenes and dance sequences, feel jumbled and lack polish (and not in a way that might make them feel organic).

Shaun Taylor-Corbett and Judy Durkin are individually solid as Romeo and Juliet. With many productions, it’s easy to forget that Romeo and Juliet are impressionable teenagers, acting on all the angst, impetuosity, and bone-headedness that may come with those years. Taylor-Corbett and Durkin genuinely feel like the high school students that Romeo and Juliet might be if Shakespeare were writing today. Durkin in particular shines in the second act, delivering — in her more tearful, dramatic scenes — the most emotional and believable moments in the production. Yet together these two performers lack an essential element — chemistry. Romeo and Juliet are young, yes, but for audiences to believe their rapid romance, they must also possess a crackling heat. Here, Romeo and Juliet are more tepid high school crush than anything else.

The production’s real misstep, however, is its setting. Theatricum, known for examining contemporary social issues through the lens of classic drama, has resituated the play in East Jerusalem, with the Montagues as Muslim and the Capulets as Jewish. It’s a noble idea – using a violent contemporary conflict with roots in a centuries-old feud as a framework for a tale of teenagers who choose love over generations of hate. But the conflict in the Middle East, particularly the violence in the Gaza strip, is so complex and fraught that it defies resolution, amongst even the most astute political minds. Families in the region fear losing a child, spouse, friend, etc. on a regular basis — and to suggest that the tragic romance of Romeo and Juliet would be enough to foster an elusive peace and erase ancient grudges unfairly simplifies the issue. Furthermore, this political situation makes certain plot points less believable: It’s hard to imagine that a nurse from a Jewish family would willingly visit a mosque and its Muslim cleric (here, Mufti Zaman, the production’s equivalent of Friar Lawrence), considering both her religious and political beliefs and the very real physical danger it might hold.

Equally disturbing is the sloppy and heavy-handed delineation of the two families in terms of their ethnicity and faith. In an age where diversity is a buzzword, the casting seems outmoded; it operates on the rule that anyone with a slight tan gets placed on the Muslim side while all the paler actors are on the Jewish one. Much of the language has been modified to accommodate the new setting.  Some changes, such as replacing “Verona” with “Jerusalem,” are there for consistency and clarity. Others, however, feel more like a blunt shorthand, with generous sprinklings of Arabic and Yiddish asides meant to serve as a constant reminder of the religious difference between the families. Shakespeare’s language is often altered to assist with this — any vitriolic mentions of Montague or Capulet are changed to epithets like “raghead,” etc., which both disrupts the meter of the text and feels excessive and distasteful.

Theatricum Botanicum offers incredible educational opportunities for school-age children and professional actors alike, but this production sadly feels like a misstep in their typically more thoughtful work.

Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., 666 Martell Ave., Topanga; Running in Repertory, Thurs.- Sun.; (310) 455-2322 or www.theatricum.com. Running time: 2 hours and 15 minute, with a 10 minute intermission