“Romeo And Juliet” Gets The Jokes, Misses The Poetry

To judge by the crowds this weekend in Edgerton Park, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is still an excellent draw.

The plot is simple and familiar: two young people fall in love at first sight, but a family feud pulls them apart and eventually destroys them. Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare’s first tragedy, and arguably the first play in history to take simple romance as its entire theme. The play has the speed and the passion of youth, with its considerable action confined to just three days. The Elm Shakespeare production — playing through Sept. 3 — makes the play briefer still, cutting it heavily but intelligently and dispensing with an intermission.

The fine and functional set immediately places the play in our times, in what might be a high-end condo in Coral Gables. The location is further established by smooth contemporary music between and sometimes behind scenes. Crowds on that impressive stage are skillfully arranged and moved to hold the eye’s interest. The fight scenes are action-packed, and convincing, though like the singing and dancing, consistently overextended at the expense of text.

The actors, first and foremost, deliver Shakespeare’s language comprehensibly — the greatest requirement of any production, in my opinion. Everyone makes sense, which is no small achievement.

A few rise above clarity to poetry. Most notable is James Udom as Mercutio, who fully embraces the verbal display central to his extravagant part. Actors too often race through the rich language of the Queen Mab speech, assuming the audience can’t follow it and attempt instead to wow with velocity. Udom acts it out and talks it out, backed by his responsive posse. It’s an excellent performance with a Jamaican flavor that fits this production.

Former company director James Andreassi likewise offers a strong Friar Lawrence, responsive to the opportunities of the language and aided by cuts that minimize the character’s doubtful conduct. Gracy Brown is endearingly earthy and entertaining as Juliet’s nurse and confidant.

Tybalt is by far the most successful of several parts cast across gender. Claire Warden has the physical presence and athleticism to carry off this fine role, and she speaks with a growl and with the precision appropriate to her strut. 

The weak point of the production, regrettably, is at the heart of the play. Steven Johnson and Courtney Jamison as Romeo and Juliet are appealing actors who deliver professional performances, but they do not engage our sympathy. Johnson’s Romeo is more natural and lively with Mercutio and the gang than with his Juliet. Johnson seems to keep his distance from the passion in the part. Jamison puts her lines across clearly but doesn’t find the poetry in the verse, and she conveys neither innocence nor vulnerability. Both actors find the humor in their lines, but sometimes do so even when it should not be their priority.

That acting decision presumably belongs to director Raphael Massie. Though the virtues of the production make the evening worthwhile, a reluctance to embrace the poetry and the pathos of the play diminishes the emotional impact of this potent tale.

Elm Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet runs evenings at 8 p.m. in Edgerton Park through Sept. 3. Click here for more information.