Theater Review—

‘Shakespeare’s R & J’: What Happens When Boys Act Up

By Julie Stern

HARTFORD — What happens when a quartet of high school boys — students at a repressive Catholic boarding school — stage their own version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet?

Currently on the boards at Theater Works Hartford, Shakespeare’s R&J in some ways has parallels to Newtown Little Theater’s production of A Christmas Carol (see related review), in that it is performed on a bare stage, illuminated only by votive candles,  the only props being four chairs and a box. As with Dickens, Shakespeare’s words are made to speak for themselves, interpreted by actors  whose formidable talent allows the words to come to vivid life.

Punctuated by the jarring sound of ringing school bells, the four begin the play with frozen faces, chanting their way through morning prayer, Latin conjugations, math formulae and philosophical dogma about the proper place of woman with robotic precision.

But then it’s time for drama! Stripping off the outer layer of uniform (identical gray sleeveless sweaters and black neckties), they spring to individualized life. The play has begun. Suddenly they are a flock of rowdy teenagers brawling about the streets of Verona. Romeo is proclaiming his undying  passion for the beautiful Rosaline. His cousin, Benvolio,  suggests they crash the party given by the Montagues’ arch enemy,  Capulet… From there, the familiar tale of star-crossed lovers continues to its inevitable tragic end.

As tensions heat up, the boys’ shirt tails fly loose and their neatly groomed hair begins to tousle. One of the best bits of staging involves the portrayal of the fighting that is such a hallmark of the play. Rather than use swords, the fights are represented via a long strip of blood red cloth, which becomes entangled in a fierce tug of war between combatants.

Adam Barrie is an inspired Romeo; Ashley Robinson is a light-hearted, frivolous Juliet, slowly awakening to love and finding the strength to stand up to her imperious parents.

The other main parts are taken by Paul Terzenbach, who handles the wise-cracking Mercutio, the benevolent Friar Lawrence, and the haughty Lady Capulet; and TJ Linnard, who is by turns the insufferable Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin, killed by Romeo in revenge for his killing Mercutio) and Juliet’s devoted nurse, whose loyalty to her mistress leads her to act as a go-between for the lovers.

As such, Shakespeare’s R & J could be an actual student production, as performed at any ambitious boys’ school (and at the outset the stage manager reminds the audience that back in the Bard’s time,  all the actors would have been male anyhow).

In the case of this version, however, as adapted by Joe Calarco,  there is an undertone of homoeroticism,  not unknown in an all boy prep school. As they act out the growing attraction between the characters,  the two boys slowly become aware of a pull that is even more strongly forbidden than a connection between  Montague and Capulet (or for that matter, Jets and Sharks).

While this subtext has been intimated in publicity for the play, it remains subtle and understated, never reaching a point where it encroaches on the original. It is not West Side Story nor is it Brokeback Mountain.

Rather, it simply enriches the atmosphere of tension and teenage emotion that has made Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a classroom standard for centuries.

(Performances continue most evenings until December 20. Call 860-527-7838 or visit TheaterWorksHartford.org for full performance and ticket details.)