Morgan Moessinger and Kayla Anne Vele (Photo by Jill Petracek)
Reviewed by Martín Hernández
The McCadden Place Theatre
Through October 4
Carina Sapiro, Ky Jonze, Kayla Anne Vele, Jacob Turner Bell andKatie Canavan (Photo by Jill Petracek
How does one put a distinctive spin on one of William Shakespeare’s most well-worn and well known works? For Speak Low Productions’ debut effort, the company sets the tragedy in a 1980s American high school and has the cast switch gender roles. Thus female, and/or non-binary actors play the male roles and vice versa, with little change in the dialogue. The intention is commendable; however, the results are less so, due to spotty staging from adaptor/director Libby Letlow and some cast members’ struggles with the Bard’s text.
Welcome to Verona Catholic High School, where tomboyish teen Romeo Montague (a spunky Daria Good) breaks up a knife fight on the school’s grounds between her pal Benvolio (Natalia Montgomery-Fernandez) and the toxic Tybalt (Kim Dalton). That Tybalt is a Capulet, a rival family to Romeo’s Montague brood, only amplifies the clans’ bitter conflict. When Romeo and Juliet Capulet (a sensitive Christian Sanders) spy each other at a high school fundraiser, the sparks flying from their love at first sight rendezvous may well burn down both their houses.
The amended title, clever yearbook-styled program, and 80’s New Wave soundtrack, suggests a campy spin on 1980s youth rom-coms, something from which this chestnut could benefit. Letlow and the fledgling company, however, play it fairly straight, eschewing a potentially more nuanced venture. However, it is refreshing to see the femme performers in roles normally played by males, engaging in acrobatic fight scenes boosted by Mikael Mattson’s choreography, and trading insults as mean Catholic girls ofttimes do, while reveling in the additional stage time allotted to the male roles.
For a play with ample opportunity for levity, Letlow mines little and her sluggish pacing bogs down much of the show. Designer Jim Niedzialkowski’s lighting sets a suitable tone for much of the play, notably in the iconic balcony scene on Audrey Scott’s formidable two story set. But dim lighting in a later scene on the balcony diminishes the young lovers’ moment of ardor. Robert Merkel’s costumes nail the 1980s oeuvre, from blue jeans and rock star t-shirts to plaid Catholic schoolgirl uniforms to the punk aesthetic of Romeo’s heated buddy Mercutio (Zoo Holmström in a multi-colored mullet.)
While some in the cast mumble, shout, or speed through their lines, Kathryn Farren as the pious Sister Lawrence, Walter Gray IV as Juliet’s loyal and jovial valet Val, and Carina Sapiro as Romeo’s menacing mom Lady Capulet acquit themselves well with the text. One does wonder, however, why the otherwise efficient Lady Capulet glances at her wrist to tell the time while there is no watch strapped to it.
Good and Sanders personify their role reversal well and Letlow’s gender flip in casting overall presents an enlightening commentary on society’s perception of the male and female binary. The production encourages us to embrace the so-called opposite side of our gender assignment, whether it is Gordon’s male Juliet shedding unabashed tears in a fluffy bathrobe or Good’s female Romeo embracing her righteous rage as well as a shiny switchblade.
Speak Low Productions, The McCadden Place Theater, 1157 McCadden Place, Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru Oct. 4. www.speaklowproductions.com Running time two hours and 30 minutes, plus 15 minute intermission.
