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The
Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
July 28 - August 3, 2005 Edition
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Theater:
Contemporary view of age-old tale July 28, 2005 By Tony Omer
The Vineyard Playhouse production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is set in a more contemporary time. The costumes are modern-day street clothes that one would find on kids prowling Oak Bluffs on most any summer’s night. The swords are army-navy-store-issue knives, small but deadly looking. The props are few. The set is little more than the natural sylvan glen of the Tisbury Amphitheater. Melodic guitars and drums open the play. It is a spare production that allows us to focus on the words. The words can take us back in time or illuminate the present. It is certainly Shakespeare’s words that we have come to hear. It seems that today’s spoken English has incorporated just about every other line from this play into common usage. The cast is made up primarily of young Vineyard actors. Island-raised John B. Robichau, who just graduated from Tabor Academy and is on his way to New York University, plays Romeo with a focus and passion that makes us feel his dilemma. His stage presence, clear voicings, and intensity help keep us wishing the inevitable will not happen. Juliet is played as a fetchingly shy but determined girl by Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School senior-to-be Simone McCarthy. Island theater regular Chelsea McCarthy (no relation) as Lady Montague and Nurse shows again that she was born to the stage with an animated and often funny performance. Christopher Kann (Tybalt and Friar Lawrence), another face familiar to Islanders, is most convincing as a tough and understanding Friar. The sometimes ribald performance of Sean George (Mercutio and Prince) provokes the most laughter. He plays a bigger-than-life character, well, bigger than life. Jon Ryan, Jonah Lipsky, Luke Bailey, Colleen Deveer, and Xavier Powers round out the Vineyard-connected actors. Peter Stray plays a convincingly smooth but strong-headed Lord Capulet, and Danny Jensen is solid as Benvolio and also covers Friar John and the Watch. The play has been judiciously cut from its sometimes three hours to just over two by director M.J. Bruder Munafo, with no intermission. The scenes are well staged, the timing and flow of the play on queue. The fight scenes directed by Ted Hewlett are often convincing, even without swords. I don’t recall the amphitheater in Tisbury ever looking more beautiful than it does this summer. It is a sylvan glen, lush and seemingly uncut, a beautiful hollow filled with climbing vines and full-bodied trees that sway gracefully with the gentle breeze. Birds sing in the background. As they did in Elizabethan England, you can bring food and drink. Bring beach chairs or seat cushions for added comfort — the bench seating is unpadded. You would be hard-pressed to call yourself an educated person if you haven’t seen “Romeo and Juliet” and if you have seen it before you will enjoy this production even more. “Romeo and Juliet” is performed at The Tisbury Amphitheater, Tashmoo Overlook, State Road, Vineyard Haven, 5 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays until Aug. 13. Tickets are $15, $10 for children under 18, cash only, available at the door. Call 508-696-6300 or visit www.vineyardplayhouse.org for more information. Theater Preview: Two takes on life and baseball “Rounding Third,” a comedy by Richard Dresser, is now showing at the Vineyard Playhouse. The play, directed by playhouse artistic director MJ Bruder Munafo, is a story about Little League, fathers and sons, and the true meaning of success. The play should appeal to all, as almost anyone can relate to the turmoil and chaos hidden underneath the innocent face of Little League baseball. In this piece, two fathers from opposite sides of the tracks team up to coach the Little League baseball team on which their sons play. Their entirely contrasting attitudes towards life as well as baseball and winning create a timeless and entertaining foundation for the story. The play stars John M. Jackson, whose credentials include several years of work on the well-known television series “Jag,” as Coach Don, alongside Tim Ryan, most recently appearing in an episode of “Judging Amy,” as assistant coach Michael. Writer Richard Dresser is a successful playwright who has had his works produced all over the country and abroad. This popular new play has caught on everywhere and is being performed extensively across the country. “Rounding Third” at the Vineyard Playhouse, Church Street, Vineyard Haven, will run from July 27 through August 13, with performances Tuesday through Saturday; curtain times vary. Tickets $35, $20 for previews and matinees; $30 for students. Call 508-696-6300 or visit www.vineyardplayhouse.org. |
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