Photos from Craig Schwartz Photography From left:
Michael Tisdale as Paris, Dakin
Matthews as Capulet, and Sara Botsford as
Lady Capulet perform in Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" at the
Ahmanson Theatre. The play runs through March 18.
By Barbara McGuire
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Shakespeare wasn’t the first to interpret the tale of
star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, nor was he the last.
The tragic story of Juliet and her Romeo originated in
15th-century Italy and has been told time and time again, often
with different plot twists. In “Westside Story,” for
instance, the feuding Capulets and Montagues are torn along racial
lines, while in the recent film reproductions the story is given a
20th-century pop culture alteration.
In the Ahmanson’s latest production of “Romeo and
Juliet,” showing through Mar. 18, audience members are
presented with an almost unchanged rendition of the tragic tale of
true love.
The script, the setting, the costumes ““ all have been left
refreshingly unaltered by director Sir Peter Hall. But, with a few
new additions, Hall still manages to surprise audiences a few times
throughout the evening.
Though the story begins and ends the same as Shakespeare’s
original version, the actors bring the senses of the audience to
life again with their magnificent interpretations of each
character. Especially noteworthy is DB Woodside’s performance
as Romeo.
 Photos from Craig Schwartz Photography DB
Woodside and Lynn Collins star as the
lead characters in “Romeo and Juliet,” which is
directed by Sir Peter Hall.
While some other members of the cast seem to struggle at times
with the difficult script, Woodside spouts each line melodically
and naturally as though such words as “ere” and
“thou dost” were part of his everyday vocabulary.
Woodside succeeds as Romeo with unmistakable genuineness.
When Capulet (Dakin Matthews) strikes out at Lady Capulet and
Juliet for Juliet’s refusal to consent to marry her suitor
Paris, the audience is left unconvinced of his anger, since his
jovial face is all they have seen throughout the evening. The
transition, therefore, is not entirely successful.
Woodside’s emotions, however, come across in full color
with every twist they take. From the height of his happiness after
wedding Juliet to the depths of his despair after learning
she’s dead, Woodside makes the audience believe.
Sexual innuendos are another part of Hall’s interpretation
which undoubtedly lie in the original script, but many other
directors choose to ignore. Not only do the male characters wear
masks with oddly shaped phallic noses, but throughout the evening
Mercutio and Romeo’s friends grab their crotches and talk
dirty. Such frankness in no way insults the crowd, and often
elicits laughter.
An especially amusing moment takes place where most would not
expect it: the balcony scene between Romeo and Juliet. As the
nurse, portrayed wonderfully by Miriam Margolyes, who played the
same role in the 1996 film version, is searching for her babe,
Juliet is forced to run back and forth between the balcony and her
room to tell the nurse she is coming.
Romeo thinks that Juliet has left for the evening and when she
appears again he falls to the ground screaming, “Yes, yes,
yes,” while swinging his arms like a champion. Such
interpretations of the script seem to be more individualistic and
representative of Woodside’s personality than anything
else.
Such corresponding movements to the script are important
throughout the evening, helping to bring the emotions of the
characters, as well as the story, to life for the audience. When
Juliet is frustrated by the nurse, who won’t tell her whether
or not Romeo has arranged for them to be married, her stress and
anger can be sensed not only in her strained voice, but also in the
way she jumps at the nurse, swinging and flipping her hair
wildly.
For the audience, one final aspect of the play will always
remain unchanged. Despite the many alterations that accompany each
rendition of the play ““ the audience hopes that Juliet will
snap out of her death-like coma before Romeo wrongly commits
suicide and that the two will run off together and live happily
forever. But without such tragedy, the ending, of course, would be
amiss, because “never was there a story of more woe, than
that of Juliet and her Romeo.”
THEATER: “Romeo and Juliet” is
currently on-stage at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Avenue,
Los Angeles, through Mar. 18. Performances are Tuesday through
Saturday at 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
Ticket prices range from $20 to $55 and can be purchased by calling
(213) 628-2772 or online at www.taperahmanson.com.