produced by: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louisscript: Joe Calarco (adapted from the play by William Shakespeare)
director: Paul Mason Barnes
cast: Daniel Zaitchik, Bobby Steggert, Chris Landis, Bob Braswell
scenic designer: Scott Neale
lighting designer: Mark Wilson
costume designer: Garth Dunbar
sound designer: Tori Meyer
vocal coach & combat director: Bruce Longworth
stage manager: Kathryn Ballard
Four boys from a private school escape to the attic each night to revel in the words of Shakespeare, acting out the roles (and living the lives) from Romeo and Juliet.
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This was a really nice production. The acting was terrific, the setting beautiful. I didn't get entirely wrapped up in the characters, however. By the time I understood who they all were, I was beyond caring about any of them. Did they all know that the two were lovers? Did it only come out through the course of their reading R&J?
I don't think that the adaptation was as tight as it could have been, and perhaps the direction could have made it a bit more clear.
I felt that the lighting was not helping the story at all. It seemed to change for no reason. If we're going to have lighting changes for the imaginary world the boys are living in, then it should be made clear that the lighting is for the play world. But when it resembles the real world outside the attic, then I simply got confused as to where we were supposed to be. The very fact that I felt the need to mention the lighting signifies that it did NOT do it's job well.
An interesting production. I was not familiar with this adaptation. Tight acting really made me stay focused on it.
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