Review: 'Romeo and Juliet' by Hudson Shakespeare Company

“A plague o’ both your houses!” - Mercutio

Stratford, CT - “Grunge-inspired” ‘Romeo and Juliet’ came to Stratford on Saturday afternoon for just one performance in the courtyard behind the town’s library. The members of the cast and crew from Hudson Shakespeare Company got up early to travel from New Jersey with their director Noelle Fair for this free outdoor performance.

Hudson Shakespeare has committed themselves to not limiting the company’s repertoire to the usual Shakespeare suspects like ‘R&J,’ and to bringing modern, Greek, and lesser done titles of the Bard to the public’s attention. “The company’s philosophy of pushing nontraditional casting in regards to gender and ethnicity in Shakespearean roles also held sway as [Hudson Shakespeare founder L. Robert “Luther” Johnson] put it: ‘It doesn’t matter to us. There’s not enough of that being done.’” The latter philosophy was evident in this more typical choice for this year’s production.

The cast did well with the limitations of an outdoor venue and at times turned it into an asset. The balcony scene was performed with Romeo among the audience members and when he was hiding from his friends, he hid behind the lawn chairs. Costume changes were done in a sunken secluded area stage left or in the library.

All of the young actors did very well with their updated characters. In this corner as members of the Montague family were Tiffany Faulkner as Lady Montague and Joshua Blount as her son Romeo. Lindsay Milligan took on the role of the young man’s friend Benvolio and Juliana Valente played Abraham.

Joshua Blount as Romeo and Lindsay Milligan as Benvolio

In the opposite corner was the Capulet family, headed by Leon Morgan giving a strong performance as Lord Capulet. He was nicely matched by Taylor Baskin in the role of Lady Capulet. The female member of the star-crossed lovers was brought to life nicely by Mackenzie Menter as Juliet.

Juliana Valente was the long time devoted nurse to young Juliet. Matthew Cavender played Juliet’s cousin Tybalt as well as Paris, Juliet’s intended husband. Ms. Menter also played the Capulets’ servant Gregory, while Ms. Faulkner also played the family’s butler.

Under the heading ‘Others’ was Kamran Saliani in the roles of Friar Laurence and Prince Escalus. Tiffany Faulkner also played Mercutio, the brother of the prince and a drug-addicted Apothecary.

There were snippets of carefully chosen 90’s hits and the masked ball at the Capulet’s home even featured guests in Elizabethan-influenced gowns dancing the Macarena. The rest of the costumes for the younger characters were 90’s inspired, with some ripped jeans, graphic tees and a nose ring. There were even ring pop wedding rings. It all worked well to bring us back to the decade, in spite of the iambic pentameter.

The tragedy was presented without intermission and ran two hours. Audience members had to ignore a passing fire truck and police car with sirens, a few passing trains and a parade of library patrons. I missed some lines simply due to being outside without microphones, but the supportive audience was very attentive. The very simple set of Juliet’s bedroom with curtains and a church could not withstand the brisk winds that were present on Saturday afternoon, and both fell over during Romeo’s death scene. Adele Rylands served as fight director of the stage combat and the killings that were the result.

While this is certainly not the first time that I have experienced a Shakespeare play set in a modern era, it will be one of the more memorable ones for me. Thank you to the Hudson Shakespeare Company for bringing this updated version of the Bard’s classic work to my hometown.

Photo courtesy of Hudson Shakespeare

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues and posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and Connecticut Theater Previews and on Twitter @nancysjanis417