Review of 'Romeo And Juliet' At Bishop O'Connell High School

From Bishop O'Connell HS: The power of love transcends time. Whenever and wherever it takes place, a story that contains this crucial theme can apply universally, and inspire all by their actions. This can be seen through Bishop O'Connell High School's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Trading out the written Shakespeare setting of fair Verona for the bustling streets of 1940's New York, this adaptation takes the story in an updated direction to show how transcendent the themes are. This timeless show follows the trials and tribulations within the rival houses of Montague and Capulet, and the forbidden love that the children of these houses share.

The classic tale follows star-crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Romeo, played by Jeffrey Hales, had efficient power in his performance, fueled by clear motivations and ambitions. He took charge on stage, putting passion and energy into his performance. Throughout the show, he helped focus and lead the ensemble of his peers, wonderfully working with and realistically reacting to other characters in his actions. Juliet, played by Kyleigh Friel, had a refined performance, using the subtleties of the character to her advantage as she presented a subdued version of the character. She was able to masquerade herself and her true intentions to everyone but those she loves and cares for, conveying the secrecy and turmoil within her after meeting Romeo. Many of the actors had microphones throughout the show, but still had wonderful projection if a microphone wasn't on, allowing for us to easily hear the dialogue being said. The actors were able to power through any technical hiccups and convey this story with extreme focus and precision.Some of the technical design for the show was wonderfully done.

The set design struck well between simplistic and complex, using intricate designs for simple set pieces to further convey the time period and setting. They made efficient use of backdrops to help build our location and immediately introduce the changes made in this adaptation of the tale. Both in lighting and costume designs, color contrasts were made between the two houses to convey the divide between the blue used for Montague and red used for Capulet. Then, for characters such as Romeo, once wed to Juliet, is lit by and wears purple to convey their conjoined nature. The special effects team made wonderful use of blood squibs during many of the battles and death scenes, building a sense of stakes and urgency whenever someone was injured as they were led to their untimely demise.

It helped add a sense of realism for the production, and it was wonderful to see this uncommonly done special effect in a high school production. Bishop O'Connell was able to put on a charming rendition of the classic Romeo and Juliet. Actors powered through each scene, efficiently guiding through the text with careful attention to detail. The tech especially helped in bringing this timeless story into a new time period, with the use of costume and set designs conveying these enthralling changes. Overall, Bishop O'Connell's production of Romeo and Juliet built upon the original text, conveying that the themes of love and fate presented in Shakespeare's text are universal throughout time, through the strong acting choices made throughout the piece and the technical design projecting this tale into the 20th century.

Image Courtesy of Bishop O'Connell HS