Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502170027
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mill Mountain Theatre's current production of "Romeo and Juliet" overcomes most of the challenges and gives modern relevance to Shakespeare's "puppy love" tragedy, which is also about prejudice and the violence it wreaks. The casting of convincingly young actors in the title roles - after all, Juliet is not yet 14, according to the text - makes sense of the title characters, who can seem ridiculous when played by older actors.
This Juliet, played with uncanny intelligence by Dina Comolli, giggles, jumps up and down when she's excited and accepts Romeo's fervent kisses with unashamed glee. When Romeo spies her coming out onto her balcony after the Capulets' party, she's got her Walkman on and is making singing-along noises. Comolli's performance is almost hair-raising at times, because she creates some difficult transitions for herself. How on earth, for example, will this teeny-bopper Juliet convince us that she has the depth to be so affected by love that she will be driven to kill herself?
Comolli handles it without trouble, relying on wit and a total understanding of Juliet. Christopher Mark Johnson's sort of "dumb-jock" Romeo who is wised up by love is a good complement to Comolli's Juliet. Johnson deserves some sort of award for the giggle (perfectly timed) that escapes him on meeting his beloved at Friar Laurence's cell.
There are other fine performances in this production, especially Jens Martin Krummel as the nobel and funny Mercutio, Patrick Ellison Shea as Benvolio and Joanne Tolassi as Nurse. Shea and Tolassi have such ease with Shakespeare's verses that they give perfect coherence to this modern staging. As for Krummel, his Mercutio is so physical, so wonderful, theatergoers may find themselves wishing that he will rise from the dead after Intermission.
The quibbles are these: Snippets of modern music are used to open scenes and in the dance sequence at the Capulets party. Some dialogue is lost completely beneath the music, a glitch that likely will be resolved after the previews. A more serious problem is the jarring, auditory contrast that the music creates when Elizabethan English is spoken over it, especially during the party scene. This is where Romeo and Juliet first meet and speak those famous lines - "let lips do what hands do," etc., - all of which are nearly lost in the music and in the distraction of the dancing, which is quite awkward-looking.
It also seems odd that the Prince, who comes always pleading for peace, travels with armed, camouflage-clothed guards and a sunglass-wearing "assistant." Like the rest of the cast, the Prince's clothing is elegant, modern and sleek - a dark suit, with white shirt buttoned up to the top. And that's OK. But excellent as Doug Zschiegner's Prince is, his slicked-back hair and entourage create a confusing impression of a corrupt - maybe even Mafiosa - leader, and his words of peace don't ring quite true.
Perhaps we are to believe that this is a violent, modern Verona, and the guards are for the Prince's own protection. But there is no sense of any danger other than that which the Montagues and the Capulets present for each other.
All in all, however, director Jere Lee Hodgin and the cast create an almost completely coherent staging of the play. This production gives new appeal to an old standard, and that is, in itself, quite an accomplishment.
by CNB