โLove is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs,โ says Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. And, indeed, love is the headstrong passion propelling the fortunes of the main characters in the newest production from Santa Cruz Shakespeare.
The love between young Romeo and Juliet erupts within a centuries-old feud between Veronaโs leading families, the Capulets and the Montagues. On the brink of maturity, the two offspring of opposing noble families, Romeo (Taha Mandviwala) and Juliet (Isabel Pask), throw themselves into a forbidden love, even as their eldersโand cousinsโfight to the death.
Shakespeareโs tale of tragic love plays with the uneasy tensions of hot-blooded youth and seasoned wisdom, experience and innocence, illusion and realityโand, ultimately, life and death.
Through the two-and-a-half hours of the play, audiences are invited to savor soaring flights of poetry, ill-advised love at first sight, youthful rebellion against parental authority, and, of course, classic tropes like the lusty companion, the ribald nurse, and the meddling priest.
As directed by Laura Gordon, the playโs powerful secondary charactersโnoblemen, servants, parentsโare given plenty of room to strut and fret. Mercutio, one of Shakespeareโs cockiest men about town and Romeoโs best buddy, is turned loose (in the able form of Lorenzo Robert) to regale the entire stage, aisles, and audience with his nimble sexual swagger. In Robertsโ hands, Mercutioโs โQueen Mabโ speech becomes a torrent of hip-hop virtuosity. A shorter leash might serve just as well, but opening nightโs audience ate it up.
As Julietโs good-hearted, no-nonsense, broad and bawdy Nurse, Patty Gallagher has her way, both with Shakespeare and with us. Clearly in her native element, Gallagher can turn a single syllable into a sonic Wikipedia of primal wisdom. And once again, the mere sight of Tommy A. Gomez as Julietโs father Capulet, is enough to quicken the pulse of the outdoor amphitheater. Indignant at his daughterโs refusal to marry the suitor he has selected, Gomezโs Capulet unleashes a torrent of rage and invective so tart and compelling that we can taste his wrath. Clone this man!
Mike Ryan as Friar Lawrence brings clarity and reason into the rash scenario of two young lovers demanding to be united in matrimony. Mandviwala is such a graceful and persuasive actor that his Romeo often penetrates clichรฉs this story has endured over the centuries. Dashing and athleticโthough Romeo is destined to be โfortuneโs foolโโhe literally climbs up to Julietโs balcony for a kiss, and then somersaults his way down again. Swash and buckle!
The production provides us the spectacle of women brandishing swords and knives in expert duels and street scufflesโnotably the brilliant swagger of Nia Kingsley as Romeoโs cousin Benvolio, and the taunting toughness of Maggie Adams McDowell as Julietโs cousin Tybaltโand I can envision a production with the central roles reversed. Mandviwalaโs beauty could create a smoldering Juliet, with the stalwart Pask (here playing Juliet) an earnest Romeo.
The idea of love enflames these two even more than love itself. But it’s enough to use against the iron wills of their warring parents. And for a while, it succeeds, until fate steps in, andโwell, you know how it ends.
Costumes by B. Modern provide much to fill the eyeโthe gorgeous actors provide the rest.
A full moon shining high above the stage lent a scenic grace note to the premiere performance.
Laced with the bristle of love/hate dynamics, Romeo and Juliet enfolds the ironic tragedy within a tissue of playful energy.
Santa Cruz Shakespeareโs โRomeo and Juliet runsโ through Sept. 2 at The Grove inย DeLaveaga Park. santacruzshakespeare.org.
