Revolutionary R & J at the Blackrock
by Christopher Key
Director Bjorn A. Whitney has given audiences at the Skagit
River Shakespeare Festival a real treat with his production of Romeo and Juliet. He has neatly turned the tables on
Elizabethan tradition and cast most of the men’s roles with women. It works brilliantly and provides some fresh
perspectives on those roles.
Shakespeare Northwest, the parent organization of the
festival, has been around since the turn of the century. Like most small theatre festivals, it has had
its share of struggles over the years.
Unlike most small festivals, it appears to be in robust health 15 years
later. It has seemingly overcome the
challenges presented by its remote location and the charms of the Blackrock
Amphitheatre have a lot to do with that.
The Blackrock is located in Rexville and don’t bother trying to find
that on Mapquest.
It’s very much worth the drive, however, to see Shakespeare “outside
and under the stars.” That’s been the
guiding principle of the festival since the beginning and it has survived
vampiric mosquitos and noisy overflights from Whidbey NAS.
 |
| Photo credit - Mary Mae Hardt |
Since this R & J
is all about the women, it’s most fitting that Carolyn Travis delivers a
powerhouse performance as Capulet that by itself is worth the price of
admission. Travis has been with the
festival since its inception and there’s an obvious reason for that. When Travis gets on a roll, she’s playing in
a league of her own.
 |
| Photo credit - Mary Mae Hardt |
Sage Hoag is an endearing Romeo who completely captures the
goofiness of a teenager in love. When he
Juliet start sucking face, the passion is believable. Cassandra Leon has a lovely stage presence as
Juliet, but her performance could be greatly improved by slowing down her
delivery. That may occur naturally once
the opening night jitters wear off.
 |
| Photo credit - Mary Mae Hardt |
Two of those women in traditionally male roles are Jaime
Mastromonica and Sarah Mickelson. They
pay Mercutio and Tybalt, respectively, and both give ballsier performances than
most of the men I have seen in those roles.
Much of the comic relief in the show falls upon Juliet’s
Nurse. Beth Greatorex plays the role
with boozy bluster. Friar Laurence also
gets a chuckle or two, but Trey Hatch’s performance is most notable for his
portrayal of tough love.
Elizabeth Lundquist, Jessie Spangler, Lydia Randall,
Chauncey Drummond, April Jane M. Hoag and Glynna Goff all play roles
traditionally cast as men. They do more
for women’s liberation than half-a-dozen Steinems.
Watch for Claire Hardt Andrews in the minor role of
Petra. This 14-year-old has an
astonishingly mature stage presence that bodes well for larger roles in the
very near future.
There are a few men swimming uphill in this river of
estrogen. James Brown is appropriately
authoritative as Prince Escalus and also provides the terrific fight
choreography. Tyler Aldridge is
thoroughly creepy as Paris and Devin Breuer plays the Apothecary with a
weirdness that indicates he may have been sampling his own wares.
Whitney has set the play in a late-19th-century
western mining town. It’s not a bad
concept, but I’d like to have seen it fleshed out with more than just costumes
and accents. One nifty bit of stagecraft
is the sign proclaiming Verona’s population.
It goes down as the body count goes up.
Romeo and Juliet plays
in repertory with Two Noble Kinsmen
at the aforementioned Blackrock Amphitheatre.
Fire up the GPS and get there.
Tickets are available at the Shakespeare Northwest website or at the
door and, yes, they take most major credit cards. The season runs through August 15 and the
site will provide specific dates and times.
For true Bardaholics, there is the Ironman marathon on
August 1 when you can take in both shows, plus the SNW touring show and
survivors get a T-shirt.
You go, grrls!
# # #
No comments:
Post a Comment