By JK Clarke . . .
There’s been something of a drought in New York when it comes to Shakespeare plays over the past several years. Sure, there are the requisite Shakespeare in the Park productions—most of which have been, at best, subpar lately—and the odd misguided Broadway venture (see: the feeble Daniel Craig-led Macbeth in 2022). And then there are the various distortions or rewrites of the plays by companies seemingly “too good” to wallow in regular old Shakespeare with its stodgy old themes, universal as they might be. So when I received an invite to New Jersey-based The Curtain’s (formerly “Shakespeare@”) production of Romeo & Juliet, I decided I would venture across the Hudson to unfamiliar territory. To twistedly paraphrase France’s King Henry IV: Shakespeare is well worth a trip to Jersey City. And the gambit paid off, for this independent production is both charming and professional, as it is straightforward.
Lest we forget, Romeo & Juliet is not merely a melodramatic teen romance, titillating in its almost absurd excess of passion. Instead, it should be known primarily as a masterwork of drama with brilliantly woven language and unmatched character interplay. Just to sit and listen to scenes between secondary characters, be they Mercutio and the nurse or even Romeo when he’s horsing around with his pals, is an absolute delight. It’s such a beautifully constructed piece of theater that the plot matters little to Shakespeare: he uses his prologue Chorus to basically give us spoilers for the entire play. With the opening speech, we know these star-crossed lovers are going to crash to earth—but that’s beside the point. In fact, this production’s director, Sean Haggerty (the company’s Producing Artistic Director, who also stepped in to play Friar Laurence in the production I attended), elegantly doubles down on that notion by removing the Chorus scene and starting the play with the end: the discovery by Juliet’s parents, of the dead (and dead again) lovers in the Capulet family tomb.
This largely uncut (for once!), two-hour, 45-minute production features a no-frills set, a black-box stage encompassed by black curtains interrupted by a single wooden portico. But William Ward’s costumes are absolutely elegant, and period-perfect for the 1920s, in which this production is set. At times the more modern setting is problematic (Mercutio and Tybalt’s knife fight, with daggers rather than swords, is finished off, menacingly, with a double-tap gunshot to the back of the head), but it generally works. And while performances are a bit uneven, there are some impressive standouts. Tucker Lewis’s Mercutio is played as less of a wise-cracking, intellectual goof (as we often see him) and a bit more of a swashbuckling, Errol Flynn-type—and it works. As the understudy Friar Laurence, Haggerty was terrific, both somber and helpful, despite being the actual catalyst of this horrible tragedy. Mark Torres’ Capulet was an effective, menacing bully, so unlikeable that we feel like he deserves the horrors that eventually befall him. Aria Shahghasemi’s Romeo showed a lot of promise, but his overkill while murdering both Tybalt and County Paris (who was bashed repeatedly with a crowbar), raised a lot of eyebrows and was something of a departure from the Romeo we love and admire. But this was likely a directorial decision that, while ambitious, may have been a misfire (pun intended).
Particularly impressive was Anita Pomario’s Juliet. Originally from Italy and trained in London (her skill with Shakespearean/Elizabethan language is impressive), her accent is particularly endearing for this Juliet who comes across both as young and naif, but surprisingly, as the play goes on, powerful. She has a defiant feminist streak that makes her character all the more fascinating, tragic and compelling. This Romeo & Juliet has an underlying theme of female empowerment that both enhances our sympathy for her and makes us rage at those who are forcing her to make decisions against her better judgment. Pomario occasionally breaks the fourth wall, looking at the audience with an almost “you’ve got to be kidding me” look as she’s being told she, at 13, needs to marry a man she doesn’t know who’s more than twice her age. It’s a nice touch, one that brings us further into the play and makes her far more sympathetic.
Shakespeare in the hands of small, independent theater is one of those things that can go either way, but must always be admired for the effort undertaken. But when it’s successful and entertaining, such as Curtain’s delightful production, the payoff is enormous. I look forward to seeing more Shakespeare by this exciting company and more performances by Ms. Pomario, hopefully on NYC stages and not so far away.
Romeo & Juliet. Through October 22 at the Nimbus Arts Center (329 Warren Street, Jersey City, NJ). Two hours, 45 minutes including one 15-minute intermission. www.thecurtain.org
Photos: Will O’Hare
Cover Photo: Anita Pomario and Aria Shahghasemi
