AP News, June 24th, 2007
All right, everybody into the pool. That seems to have been the instructions from director Michael Greif, whose strong, dramatically potent revival of "Romeo and Juliet," now on view at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in Central Park, is awash in water.
What it all means is not exactly clear, but Greif's somewhat modern-dress production, which opened Sunday, is dominated by a shallow, crescent-shaped lagoon, filled with just enough water to let the large cast of actors get their feet wet. And sometimes, a bit more, particularly when the violence in Shakespeare's most romantic tragedy turns deadly.
But the spidery, revolving set, designed by Mark Wendland, is not the main reason to see this clear-headed version of the play. Go because of the fine performances of Oscar Isaac and Lauren Ambrose, the two young performers who drive the tale.
Ambrose, best known for playing Claire Fisher on HBO's "Six Feet Under," makes a ravishing Juliet. With her cascading red hair and dressed for much of the evening in a simple white shift, she exudes a charming, quicksilver girlishness. And she is more than comfortable with the play's ornate, moonstruck language.
So is the shaggy Isaac, whose tough, street-wise Romeo is forthright in his declarations and impulsive in his decision-making. It is a thoroughly believable portrait of a man bewitched.
The test of any production of "Romeo and Juliet" is the balcony scene between the two lovers. Here it is played precariously on a wiry bridge (over all that water) that has been split apart. And the two actors make the most of its ardor, infusing the moment with a sweetness that makes the inevitable ending of the play all that more devastating.
Greif carefully orchestrates the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, whose animosities contribute to their children's deaths. That tension percolates throughout the play, which seems to take place in a vaguely Latin _ not quite Italian, not quite Spanish _ setting. The fight scenes are menacing and exceptionally well staged by fight director Rick Sordelet, who is not afraid of getting the actors down in that water.
Most of the supporting cast is strong, particularly Michael Cristofer as Juliet's stubborn, almost villainous father, Christopher Evan Welch as a foppish, theatrical Mercutio and Brian Tyree Henry as a hotheaded Tybalt.
More idiosyncratic are Camryn Manheim, whose Nurse (Juliet's loyal handmaiden) seems to be channeling Rosie O'Donnell at her most robust, and Austin Pendelton, who, as a hesitant Friar Laurence, delivers some peculiar, awkward line readings of Shakespeare's verse.
No matter. We are there for those star-crossed lovers. And Ambrose and Isaac deliver their passion with heartbreaking intensity.
The production continues through July 8.
