REVIEW: Romeo & Juliet (Folger Theatre)
New digs: ✅
Audiences craving comfort in familiar shows: ✅
Election year: ✅
Stars are aligning indeed, and Folger’s re-inaugurating itself with a hot new production of William Thee Shakespeare’s singular romantic tragedy Romeo & Juliet. Taking pages from both its seat in the heart of electoral politics across from the Capitol and from Broadway’s current Zoomerific revival, Raymond O. Caldwell jam-packs enough power into this production to light up a small village. But with great power is great responsibility, as they say.
Book
I don’t think R&J needs a proper book critique. What can I say about the English language’s most widely-read piece of drama that countless scholars haven’t? I will admit, it’s not my favorite of the folio (Macbeth holds that crown), but it’s an approachable enough level of clan-oriented drama and haphazard teen adoration that it’s an instant draw that makes adapting it so drool-worthy. 7/10
Acting
This production’s multilingualism has allowed it to tap into an oft-overlooked array of Spanish-speaking DC performers. Luz Nicolas plays a resoundingly strong Nurse and Fran Tapia a stern Lady Capulet (both are GALA favorites.) This is extended to our cutely talkative Juliet, who is put on with magnetism by Caro Reyes Rivera in her DC theatre debut. The remaining family members are a treat as well, from Todd Scofield’s wry southern charm in Lord Capulet to Alina Collins Maldonado’s lethally pointed Tybalt. On the other side of things, Cole Taylor is suave and excitable in his turn as Romeo. It’s also in the Montague house where we see two of the best performances in Giovanna Alcantara Drummond’s tomboyish Mercutio and John Floyd’s affluent Benvolio; and there’s no forgetting the evangelizing influencer that is Friar Lawrence, played to deft humor by Brandon Carter. (Aside: Renee Wilson’s Kamala-esque opening monologue as Lady Montague was great, but the role is limited. When is DC theatre going to let her cook?!) 9/10
Production
Caldwell’s direction is full of superb individual elements that fail to mesh as one; a building where each floor is the work of a different architect. The first of which to buckle under the pressure is its befuddling scenic design, where metamodern concrete and glass block the action amorphously and rely too much on Matthew Nielson’s effectively detailed sound design to establish setting. And though often choreographed rigidly, the performers are sharply draped by Jeannette Christensen and illuminated by the focused lighting of Alberto Segarra. The inclusion of Spanish in much of the dialogue was a choice I was particularly looking forward to, but I found that it was not translated into the equivalent era of Quixote-esque verbage. Instead the Spanish is fairly modern, with little in the way of its understanding; which isn’t bad from an accessibility standpoint for non-speakers, just a personal expectation that wasn’t met. But where inaccessibility and Spanish truly intersect in this production is at the subtitles, which dangle helplessly from the rafters, several meters above the stage and only facing forward. In a space like Folger, where the stage is flanked on either side by rows of viewers, I can’t imagine how they would even see them. Luckily, that’s the low point for Kelly Colburn’s projections, who otherwise are excellently creative in their use of social media and tabloid advertising to keep the political machine of Verona moving — quite literally, too, as she even creates an accurate-looking Metro time board for a scene that takes place in our fair transit system. (I won’t take any points off for the egregious “Green Line to Union Station with 19-minute headways” detail, even though the transit nerd in me thinks I should.) Ultimately, it’s the lack of cohesion with these elements that take away from the natural depth of the piece, making a lot of good ideas enter with pizzazz and fizzle out before they make sense with each other. 4/10
Viz
I commend Folger’s commitment to the political worldbuilding of the production: the audience is immediately greeted by well-designed campaign TV ads and social media blurbs for the candidates, setting the stage for a showdown of some sort. The program art doesn’t delve into these strengths, but I don’t blame them—does R&J even need an introduction? 7/10
Verdict
Well-acted but passionately flawed, Folger’s latest take on the Bard’s most famous work may fall short of lofty expectations, but brings enough novelty to the piece to make it worthwhile. 27/10
