Fun and Frustration in Romeo and Juliet

Review of Willamette Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

11 August 2013

This has been an odd summer. I’ve been working weekends, which means I don’t get to as much Shakespeare as I would like, and also, when I do get to it, I don’t often have the time to write up my thoughts on what I saw right away. So I’ve been forced to rely on an overtaxed memory to write this review… which doesn’t seem fair to the production. On the other hand, it means that this is about the things that really stuck out to me instead of incidental details. So maybe it’s not ALL bad after all.

Now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, on to the review. I am not a huge Romeo and Juliet fan. Never have been. I could never understand why it was touted as the world’s best love story. It’s not! It’s a pathetic love story… and not pathetic in a wonderful romantic way, either. Pathetic in a “well that was dumb and look what it got you into! If either of you had an ounce of maturity or common sense, you’d both still be alive right now” way. But I went to see Willamette Shakespeare’s production because the cast list and director looked pretty amazing. And I’m so glad I did.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well… as thoroughly as one can enjoy a tragedy where you kind of want to throttle whoever was responsible for the tragic outcome. But even that means that the actors made me care enough about what was going on to be upset when things go sideways.

I was especially impressed with Chris Ringkamp’s Romeo. He was a totally believable love-struck sap… not too over the top, but enough that from time to time you remember he was just as “deeply” in love with Rosalind at the beginning of the play. His reaction to seeing Juliet at the balcony was priceless.

Tamara Burgess’s Juliet was also quite good. She did an excellent job convincing me she was 13, which is so important to the believability of the story itself. And she was very much in love… I particularly liked the way she couldn’t just say goodbye to Romeo at the end of the balcony scene, but kept calling him back to tell him something else.

For all the tragedy waiting in the wings, I found the first third of the production hysterically funny. Of course, that’s the typical love-struck idiots part before the full weight of their messed-up families comes into play.

Juliet was obviously closer to the Nurse (Mindi Logan) than she was to her mother. In fact, Lady Capulet (Meredith Ott) felt very much like a socialite who had never had much time for her young daughter until now when suitors are starting to hover. She doesn’t give Juliet much reason to bring her woes to her or confide in her. 

And that brings me to my main take-away from this production – tragedy strikes when teenagers are left to sort out the world on their own. They should have had someone with more wisdom and experience to help them navigate the world… but instead all they get from their parents is more problems because of the feud. The Nurse and Friar Lawrence (Tom Mounsey) aren’t any help, really. But their parents are distant and distracted, so they have no recourse. 

Romeo and Juliet may never be my favorite play, but thanks to director Matthew Pavik and the cast, I can see its merits and understand a little better its high place in Shakespearean circles. I still don’t  think it’s an exemplary love story… but as a story about two very broken and messed up families, it has a lot going for it.

Not Much Ado

Review of Willamette Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (4 August 2012)

When Claudio asks Benedick what he thinks of Hero, Benedick replies, “Why, i' faith, methinks she's too low for a high praise, too brown for a fair praise and too little for a great praise: only this commendation I can afford her, that were she other than she is, she were unhandsome; and being no other but as she is, I do not like her” (1.1.167-172). In other words… she just doesn’t do it for me.

 

And that was exactly how I felt about Willamette Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It’s hard to pin down what didn’t work for me. There were a lot of good things about the production, and yet, it fell flat.

Jason Maniccia was one of the highlights. His Benedick was solid, and he looked at home in the part. I could believe in all of Benedick’s changing moods – his self-confidence, his mockery, his frustration with Beatrice, his love-induced melancholy and his puppy love. My only disappointment was that he could have made so much more of the eavesdropping scene, but that is probably more director Daniel Somerfield’s fault.

Ithica Tell made a smart, sassy Beatrice. She made the 400-year-old puns and wordplays feel fresh and spontaneous and biting. But I could never really buy the bit where Beatrice is in love with Benedick. And unfortunately, most of the rest of the cast didn’t play up to her energy level, and so she felt out of place. I would really like to see her in some fast-paced, high-energy productions. I think she would be brilliant.

This production, however, was not fast-paced or high-energy.

Chris Ringkamp’s Claudio was eager and innocent and young and in love, but Holly Wigmore’s flat performance of Hero gave him nothing to work with. Where Chris really shone was as one of the watch, where he could play more of a comic role, and where the other actors’ energy was infectious.

Most of that energy came from Clara-Liis Hillier (Constable Dogberry) and Lauren Modica (Verges) who absolutely stole the show. Every moment they were on stage was a gem. Their timing, their expressions, the way they stayed so wonderfully in character when the focus was not necessarily on them – they were wonderful! And costume designer Clare Parker did a bang-up job with their costumes, too. I particularly loved Dogberry’s skunk necktie with the squeaker, and Verges’s fez.

Composer and musician Jason Okamoto also deserves praise for his beautiful music (performed by him and Ali Ippolito). It gave just the right flavor and helped create the mood where other aspects failed.

One of the main problems with this production was the timing. Was it really necessary to break up the flow of the whole thing by having stagehands rearrange the benches every scene? It didn’t contribute to the sense of location or setting, and it killed what little energy there was in the last scene. If the benches absolutely have to be moved, why not have the actors do it as part of their scene? Another timing issue was that actors would often do their actions and then speak their lines – but not at the same time. Guys? We’re not that interested in watching you play a game of lawn bowls. And when the play has a lot of talking in it, you don’t want to drag it out any more than necessary.

So timing was a problem. Lack of energy was a problem. Several poor performances contributed to the overall lack of sparkle. In general, I found it a good time to work on my quilt. Which is saying something on a 100-degree day.

Review of Willamette Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well (6 August 2011)

This is Willamette Shakespeare’s third season of doing outdoor Shakespeare in the Portland area. Last year I got to see their Midsummer Night’s Dream… twice. This year they tackled one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known plays, All’s Well That Ends Well. There’s probably a reason this one is lesser known.

Even though the play itself has some serious flaws (in my opinion), Willamette Shakespeare did a great job. The WWII setting (the second time I’ve seen All’s Well done in this time period) fits crazy well with the play, what with the soldiers and wars going on in France and Italy. Helena’s Rosie-the-Riveter look was great. And uniforms are always good regardless. Anna Gettles did a stellar job with Helena, managing to make her somewhat sympathetic and likeable – no small feat with a character that is conniving and pushy and who will do anything to get her man. I didn’t feel like she was a scheming mastermind as much as someone who followed her love with puppy-dog-like affection and devotion.

Bertram (played by Kristopher Mahoney-Watson) is, of course, completely unworthy of such love. Kristopher could have gone even farther with the part, in my opinion. I didn’t always feel like he was 110% in the role. And yet, if he had gone all out, I’m not sure I would have believed Bertram’s change of heart at the end. So perhaps all’s well that ends well?

Sarah McGregor did a wonderful job as Diana, Bertram’s other love interest, but where she really shone was in her role as the King’s nurse. She may not have had any lines (or very few, I don’t remember), but her stage presence was hysterical.

Nathan Wright (Lavatch and other smaller parts) stole the scene every time he was on stage. His small gestures, facial expressions and the cheesy German accent he put on as the “Interpreter” made me laugh… and laugh… and laugh.

The play has issues – it ought to be rated PG-13 at least because of all its “adult content,” and for a comedy, it isn’t all that funny. But for all that Willamette Shakespeare made it quite watchable. I went this time thinking that maybe Shakespeare was being ironic with his title – after all, is all well that ends well? Should this be considered a happy ending? Are Helena and Bertram going to have a terrible life together? Does the ending somehow make all the deception and “infidelity” and scheming OK? This production gave me hope that perhaps, after a bumpy start, things would look up for the “happy” couple.

The show runs through August 21^st. If you want to add this play to your list of “seen it and have a vague idea of what’s going on in it” plays, this is the way to do it. Check out Willamette Shakespeare’s web site willametteshakespeare.org for locations and times.