Revamped ‘Romeo and Juliet’ Offers Memorable Shakespeare Experience

When one thinks of love, especially theatrical love, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet inevitably comes to mind. For five hundred years, company after company has put up this classic tale of star-crossed lovers; it has been copied, adapted, and updated a thousand times.

One may wonder, then, why anyone would feel it necessary to put such an exhausted piece on the stage once more; if one does, all he needs do is see the is final production of the Harvard summer season to find the answer.

Directed by Ryan McGee ’96 and assistant directed by Jeremy Funke ’04, this Romeo and Juliet electrifies the Loeb Experimental Theater.

Beginning with a wonderfully disturbing opening dream sequence, the staging throughout the show channels the amazing energy of the actors.

Most impressive of all, however, was the brilliant staging of perhaps the most famous, and most often clichéd, scenes in all of theater: the balcony scene. The director’s skill shines through with his ingenious use of space and his genuine staging in this beautifully-handled scene.

Having avoided that classic trap, McGee falls into a newer one. Some modern Shakespearean directors feel it necessary to alter Shakespeare’s plays in order distinguish their piece as an original production, failing to ground their revisions in the original text. McGee commits the error in creating a series of textually baseless flashbacks in the mind of the Friar, who McGee portrays as the ultimate villain; though the sequences are well executed, they only confuse the audience and detract from the show.

That said, McGee’s other adjustments to update the piece work quite well, including setting scenes at a kegger and a rave.

These scenes prove both the director’s skill and the versatility of Romeo and Juliet’s text.

The entire cast of the production is in top form. Matthew Thompson ’02 turns in a creditable performance as Tybalt, and the skill of Jay Chaffin ’01 shines through his directorially misinterpreted role as the Friar. Showing his resourcefulness and skill once again, Dan Cozzens ’03 plays a wonderful Benvolio and has great chemistry with Romeo.

Most remarkable amongst the supporting cast is Lisa Faiman ’02 as Mercutio. With an amazing on-stage presence, Faiman deftly handles both the comic moments and the more dramatic. The relationship with Romeo that the gender bending of this casting allows comes across as creative and enjoyable.

Relatively unknown to the Harvard stage, Anne Jump ’01 is outstanding as Juliet. From her first entrance on roller blades, Anne is the perfect young Juliet of the first act. She is brilliant in the moments of developing young love, especially shining in the balcony scene.

Anne’s skill, though, extends beyond portraying love’s early stages. Her opening speech in the second act is superb, and the audience sees her become a woman as she rejects her father and her family in favor of her new husband. This transition from young lover to woman that so often proves difficult for even the best actresses seems effortless for Jump.

But what is a Juliet without her Romeo? And what a Romeo Graham Sack ’03 is, stealing the show with his awe-inspiring performance. At ease with the comic, the tragic, and the romantic moments of one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters, Sack’s incredible skill is on full display. Sack’s genuine delivery and wit combine to make a truly loveable Romeo.

Like Jump, Sack has no trouble with the maturation of his character. His greatest moments, however, are in the balcony scene and in the love scene, which this dedicated theatergoer has never seen handled better.

It also must be mentioned that the chemistry between Sack and Jump is unmistakable. From the first moment they share on-stage, they sell the love-at-first-sight relationship that is often scoffed at by cynics. Playing both cute and passionate, blissful and tragic, the pair light up the stage.

The spectacular acting and keen directing unquestionably overcome the problems presented by the additions to the text, making this a memorable Shakespearean excursion. Rounding out a great HRST season, McGee and company dazzle the eye and move the heart with this outstanding presentation of Romeo and Juliet.