Review: Seattle Shakes' Gimmicky ROMEO AND JULIET Lacks Passion

A few months back another group in Seattle put up an immersive production of "Romeo and Juliet" that blew me away and finally gave me the chance to see a completely solid production that I liked. But even while watching that I knew that Seattle Shakespeare Company would be closing out their season with their own intimate production of the show and I worried that the chances of getting another great production might be tempting fate or the theater Gods or the odds or whatever. Well unfortunately my fears were well founded as this new staging, while having a few stand out supporting performances, ultimately falls flat with a severe lack of passion or love (crucial for a love story) and an overarching theme that at best feels confusing and tacked on and at worst, pretentious.

We all know the story right? Two young kids, Romeo and Juliet (Riley Neldam and Anastasia Higham) meet at a party and fall in love. But their families hate each other. So the kids decide to run off and secretly get married but the feuding families hate each other so much that eventually the weapons come out and people die.

Director Vanessa Miller has taken this familiar tale and attempted to turn it on its head by infusing it into a dreamlike, forced game world. At least that's what I think it was but I'm really not sure. The audience is in seats on the stage of the Cornish Playhouse with the actors performing in an alley running the length of the stage with banks of chairs on either side of the alley. I've seen alley-like seating like this before and while it can draw the audience closer in to the piece here it just made me worried I was going to get stabbed in the sword fights while not entirely certain what was happening when the action was at the opposite end of the stage from where I was seated. The stage is painted like some kind of game board and the show opened with the actors being corralled in as they asked where they were and what was happening until they started the show. This made no sense as the premise was then abandoned until the very end of the show. To add insult to injury there are two new characters added to the mix listed in the program as Dream/Death (Justin Huertas) and Fate/Time (George Mount) that acted as some sort of ethereal beings who very occasionally stepped up to manipulate the game? The dream? The post apocalyptic prison sentence? I really wasn't sure. And to cap it all off they've introduced a dream ballet for Juliet after she takes the sleeping potion as well as bookended the show with stylized dance/movement that did nothing but confuse, break the flow of the story, and make the show longer. But that's pretty much the result of this theme which lent nothing to the piece but to confuse and dilute the story.

There are a few standout performances from a few of the usual suspects from whom you expect standout performances. Mike Dooly as Lord Capulet turns in a stunning scene as he admonishes his daughter for disobeying his marriage wishes. Kathryn Van Meter is hilarious while still loving and honest as the nurse. And two newer usual suspects, Trevor Young Marston and Andrew Lee Creech manage to take Mercutio and Benvolio respectively beyond two of Romeo's buds who fight for him and gave them an individuality which was quite engaging. But the show is called "Romeo and Juliet" and so that's who we need the goods from and what we didn't get. Neldam and Higham show no spark of love or chemistry with each other and ultimately come across as petulant millenials who are upset that they didn't get their way. Their relationship felt as if it was right out of a bad MTV teen drama, filled with pretty people but little depth.

And so, yet another Shakespearean play shoved into some weird theme that lends nothing to the story and lead performances that do the same forces me to give Seattle Shakespeare Company's production of "Romeo and Juliet" a slightly disgusted and quite bewildered NAH. I guess it was really too much to ask for two good productions of this show in one season after all.

"Romeo and Juliet" from Seattle Shakespeare Company performs at the Cornish Playhouse through May 22nd. For tickets or information contact the Seattle Shakespeare Company box office at 206-733-8222 or visit them online at www.seattleshakespeare.org.

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