NY Review: 'Romeo and Juliet'

There are no false bosoms, no wigs, and no drag makeup for the men playing the female roles in the all-male cast of this "Romeo and Juliet." Shakespeare's women, however, come vividly to life, adding an arresting frisson to this surprisingly engrossing production. The men are indeed costumed in gowns and feminine accessories, but John Early as Juliet, Glenn Hergenhahn as the nurse, and Clayton Early as Lady Capulet are not out to fool us into thinking that they're women. What they do is embody the emotions and attitudes of the characters so compellingly that you are willing to accept them totally. In some mysterious coup de théâtre, the matter of actor gender becomes unimportant; what does come to the fore is the intensity and poetry of Shakespeare's oft-told but ever-potent tragedy of young love.

Director Anya Saffir has guided her 15-person cast into a palpable appreciation of the Bard's text, delivered with sureness and passion—if not always the greatest clarity—by just about every performer. Saffir is on the faculty of the acting school of Atlantic Theater Company, and many of her actors have trained there or worked in the school's productions, perhaps a clue to the general cohesiveness of the cast. She has also staged the work with an electric energy, making imaginative use of Gabriel Hainer Evansohn's striking multilevel set of skeletal black wood stairways and platforms. Katja Andreiev's contemporary costumes evoke the Italian neorealist films of the 1940s, and they seem totally appropriate. Even when the actors pull out swords for some gasp-inducing swordplay and brawling (Turner Smith is the fight choreographer), they do it with such bone-deep conviction that you don't worry about the anachronism.

Michael R. Piazza and Early give impressive performances as the titular lovers, movingly evincing both the youthful giddiness-cum-rapture and the deep anguish of their ill-fated love. Among other principal roles, Paul Corning is a smart, animated Mercutio, and his bitterness at his death due to the feuding families is harrowing. Paul Eddy makes Benvolio a sturdy kinsman and pal for Romeo, Vladimir Margolin is a compassionate Friar Laurence, and Sam Dash registers with authority as the Prince of Verona.

The production is the first of a company interestingly known as Tragedians of the City, done in collaboration with the somewhat more established Northwest Passage Theater Collective. It's an auspicious start. Even with an abbreviated text, the show runs nearly three hours, including intermission, but the time goes by swiftly. In my many viewings of "Romeo and Juliet" and its variations, I don't think I've ever been more caught up in the fate of these star-crossed lovers.

Presented by Tragedians of the City and Northwest Passsage Theater Collective at the Chernuchin Theater at American Theater of Actors, 314 W. 54th St., NYC. March 4–17. Wed.–Sun., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m. (800) 838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com.