Wednesday, February 23, 2005
It was a little gruesome
But it was still really really good. Bethany, Brian, Jen and I saw Romeo and Juliet at the Folger last night. I haven't seen a lot of productions of this particular play (believe it or not) but I love what PJ Paparelli did with it. The entire first half was truly done to highlight the comedic aspects of the script--that these are young teenagers who are all hyped up with hormones. They act like complete idiots and their feelings are always extreme and this is how the tragedy of the story comes about. And then in the second act they use a lot of blood. But it works--the violence becomes not simply romatically tragic, but actually frightening and dangerous. I have never understood the story so well.
The cast was breathtaking. Romeo and Juliet were both newly minted Julliard grads, and looked the proper age. Nicole Lowrance as Juliet especially is just so talented. Her energy really travelled all the way up to the cheap balcony seats we were in. My personal favorite, though, was clearly Michael Urie as Mercutio. He was incredibly dynamic and funny (and it doesn't hurt that he's damn hot. Apparently, I audibly gasped when he came on stage. I didn't even know I did it) But although he really plays up the fallic symbol jokes, there's a lot going on there. We can see Mercutio as a teenager desperately in need of boundaries, who doesn't know how to pull back, and with no one to grab him by the scruff of the neck, he gets himself killed. It's pretty amazing.
The run was extended only through this week. So if you're going, get thee gone!
The cast was breathtaking. Romeo and Juliet were both newly minted Julliard grads, and looked the proper age. Nicole Lowrance as Juliet especially is just so talented. Her energy really travelled all the way up to the cheap balcony seats we were in. My personal favorite, though, was clearly Michael Urie as Mercutio. He was incredibly dynamic and funny (and it doesn't hurt that he's damn hot. Apparently, I audibly gasped when he came on stage. I didn't even know I did it) But although he really plays up the fallic symbol jokes, there's a lot going on there. We can see Mercutio as a teenager desperately in need of boundaries, who doesn't know how to pull back, and with no one to grab him by the scruff of the neck, he gets himself killed. It's pretty amazing.
The run was extended only through this week. So if you're going, get thee gone!
