Caught Up in the Metaverse During an Election Year Warring Families Underpin This Brilliantly Reimagined Story of Romeo and Juliet at the Folger
ALEXANDRIA VA – Teenagers. What are you gonna do? Do they listen? No. Do they get themselves in sticky situations? Count on it. In director Raymond Caldwell’s Romeo and Juliet, the lovers are living in the modern age – videos, Instagram, iPhones, laptops, texts, DMs, IMs, Facetime and the myriad of technologies that affect their every communication. In this fraught teenage metaverse, the story of their romance and relations between their feuding families plays out during an election year. And, uh oh, when the cellphone signal goes out at a crucial juncture, there are misunderstandings and missed calls, miscommunications and missed opportunities.
The clever backdrop features a dozen CCTV video screens filled with cross-talking characters delivering the latest news with the urgency of now. There’s an election afoot pitting the Capulets against the Montagues reflecting the power struggle between the two warring families. Sound familiar? Switch out the dates and the names and it could be today’s news. Caldwell urges audiences “to grapple with how wealth, class, substance abuse, mass media consumption, politics and tribalism shape our capacity for love and exacerbate violence.”
In this highly energized production jampacked with fast-moving pieces, the lovers meet at a political fundraising gala put on by Romeo’s father, Lord Montague (Todd Scofield). On the dance floor Romeo (Cole Taylor) is captivated by Juliet’s (Caro Reyes Rivera) hot disco moves and avidly pursues her.
Though the theme is serious, and the fate of the lovers is…well, we already know that, still there are a lot of surprises framed by comedic mishaps and missteps lurking around every dangerous corner. While social media updates spool on video screens, Romeo chugs from a flask checking out Juliet’s latest Facebook pics, and Juliet snorts what can only be assumed to be cocaine.
Kids using substances. What’s new? Paparazzi bear down on the scene underpinned by electronic music. Warriors clad in modern warfare gear engage in fierce knife fights, of which there are several intense, utterly terrifying engagements impressively designed by Fight Choreographer Robb Hunter.
Juliet, her mother, Lady Capulet (Fran Tapia) and the Nurse (Luz Nicolas who is outstanding) speak Spanish amongst each other, so if you don’t, though many in the audience did because they laughed faster than the rest of us, rolling translations are on the video screens. Think modern Latino telenovelas and you’ve got the idea.
Scenes between the lovers are steamy. Times have changed in this telling, and it’s full throttle for the amorous teens. I can’t begin to tell you what a fantastic cast has been assembled for this version. I was totally captivated by this fresh interpretation of the young romantics, their real-world problems coupled with the interference of their parents and friends – those who meant well and those who didn’t.
Dramaturg Carla Della Gatta puts it this way, “This production is about the state of our lives – from inherited political ideologies and racial, homophobic, and cultural biases within a diverse community to linguistic differences between the first and second-generation immigrants to the mainland.”
A brilliantly fresh and innovative production. Highly recommended!
With Gabriel Alejandro as Paris; Brandon Carter as Friar Lawrence; Giovanna Alcântara Drummond as Mercutio; John Floyd as Benvolio; Alina Collins Maldonado as Tybalt; Tony Nam as Lord Montague; Deidra LaWan Starnes as Prince/Chorus; and Renee Elizabeth Wilson as Lady Montague.
Choreographed by Tiffany Quinn; Lighting Design by Alberto Segarra; Scenic Design by Jonathan Dahm Robertson; Sound Design and Composer Matthew M. Nielson; Costume Design by Jeannette Christensen; Projection Design by Kelly Colburn; Adaptor Caleen Sinnette Jennings; Resident Intimacy Director Kaja Dunn.
Through November 10 at Folger Shakespeare Theatre 201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. For tickets and information call the box office at 202 544-7007 or visit www.Folger.edu/theatre
