Review: ROMEO AND JULIET at Oklahoma Shakespeare is riveting, romantic, and incredibly relevant.

Oklahoma Shakespeare kicks off its 36th season with a captivating production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Set in Verona in what appears to be the late 1700's (based off of Lloyd Cracknell's exquisite costume design), Romeo and Juliet is Shakespeare's quintessential story of love, rivalry, class, power, and ultimately, tragedy. From the very beginning, the audience is given the history; two families (Capulet and Montague) are bitter rivals. Through the course of the play we see two members of the feuding families, Romeo (a Montague) and Juliet (a Capulet) fall dramatically in love and navigate their whirlwind romance amidst the turmoil of family history.

The play opens with the striking visual of the opposing families facing off, prepared for battle. As the fight is frozen in time, Prince Escalus (deftly played by Heath Jones Jr.) entices the audience with what will be the "two hours traffic of our stage"; and yes, Oklahoma Shakespeare has managed to keep this production to two hours without losing any of the richness of Shakespeare's text. With a tap of his staff, Escalus throws the play into motion and we don't slow down until the final bows.

Director, Kris Kuss, and the rest of the creative team are to be commended for their loving cut of the script. As stated previously, Oklahoma Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet moves along at an impressive pace but never leaves the audience behind. The tempo of the show seems to match the tempo of our young hero's impulsive love. Kuss makes excellent use of Oklahoma Shakespeare's small indoor set and creates moment after moment of beautiful stage pictures with the help of Rebekah Garrett's tasteful lighting design.

This production by Oklahoma Shakespeare feels fresh and relevant. As American communities continue to navigate through tension based on class, race, and fear or "the other", we see that Romeo and Juliet is a play for right now. As we debate the validity of young peoples opinions in our society, Romeo and Juliet offers a dire warning to those who consistently choose tradition over new ideas and fear over love. Kris Kuss, the creative team, and the entire ensemble should be proud of the story they've created. Romeo and Juliet at Oklahoma Shakespeare is consistently fun, romantic, deeply engaging, and incredibly relevant.

The success of any production of Romeo and Juliet obviously hinges somewhat on the actors playing the title characters. Bryan Lewis (Romeo) and Nikki Mar (Juliet) both deliver performances to be proud of. Lewis play's Romeo with an almost floppy physicality that exposes the young age of the character and makes his moment to moment decision making feel justified and reasonable. Lewis allows every moment to strike him fresh so that even the most exaggerated situations of love or dismay feel earned and authentic. Mar embodies the innocence of Juliet in a way that's quite lovely. Over the course of 2 hours we see Juliet fall in love, get married, defy family expectations, and wrestle with deep themes of loss and the fear of death. That's a tall order for any actor and Mar delivers a measured and thoughtful performance across the board.

The first act is driven in many ways by Romeo's friends, Benvolio (Kevin Cook) and Mercutio (or in this production Mercutia, played by Allie Alexander) both of which play excellent contrast to Romeo's dramatic melancholy. Alexander gets the very most out of her abbreviated time on stage with an energy that never loses hold of Shakespeare's quick wit. She navigates some of the most overtly sexual material in the play with a great sense of fun and playfulness that is on the nose without being in your face.

The youth in the show is grounded by Juliet's family. Michael Page and Mariah Warren (Lord and Lady Capulet) give nuanced performances that help build the tension between family expectation and Juliet's reality. Nurse, delightfully played by Renee Krapff, provides an equal dose of levity and motherly guidance. Krapff plays the often meandering character with grace and a great attention to detail bringing a confidence and quick wit to Nurse that makes for fun and engaging scene work without ever losing the fact that she deeply cares for Juliet.

Finally, Friar Laurence, played by Oklahoma Shakespeare veteran Hal Kohlman, provides a light in the darkest moments of the play. Kohlman is an absolute treat to watch. The role of Friar Laurence and, in fact, the entire play is elevated by Kohlman's dynamic performance and never halting specificity.

The most striking aspect of this production, is just how well the story is told. Romeo and Juliet has been reimagined many times and there's a pretty good chance that audiences have either seen a production or adaptation, or are at least familiar with the source material. Moment after moment I found myself hearing this story in a new way and discovering aspects of the play that often go unnoticed. This is all to say that if you know and love Romeo and Juliet, you will absolutely enjoy this production. If you've never seen a live production of Romeo and Juliet or have had little exposure to the works of Shakespeare, this is an excellent entry point and a thoroughly enjoyable evening at the theatre.

Romeo and Juliet runs now through March 1st with performances Thursday - Saturday at 8pm and Sunday Matinees at 2pm at Oklahoma Shakespeare's indoor space at the Paseo. For tickets and more information, please visit okshakes.org.

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