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Romeo & Juliet: Love is a Battlefield

Reviewed by Lovell Estell III

Rockwell Table & Stage

Through March 28

Director Bradley Bredeweg and his cast barely do an adequate job with this “rock operaesque” take on the Bard’s tale of star crossed lovers, and featuring the music of Pat Benatar. Staging a play inside of a restaurant is nothing new, but here the director has given insufficient attention to what is most effective and possible given the specifics of the environment. The production features a live band that, although very skillful, frequently plays too loudly to hear the lyrics.

The performers zip through their lines, mauling the snippets of Shakespeare’s elegant prose that infrequently emerge comprehensibly. The quality of the singing consistently runs hot and cold (like the performances), one of the few exceptions being Ashley Argota, who is truly captivating as Juliet, and Rustin Cole Sailors, who invests Romeo with infectious, convincing passion.

The director often uses spaces in and around the large eating area for staging, which doesn’t work well and is hardly viewer-friendly in a place with so many interior columns. Audience members were often seen corkscrewing themselves in an attempt to see what was going on and where.

Rockwell Table & Stage, 1714 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; through March 28. (323) 669-1550, ext. 20