{"id":371902,"date":"2025-09-11T08:21:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T12:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=371902"},"modified":"2025-09-24T11:33:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T11:33:45","slug":"romeo-and-juliet-as-endearing-tweens-at-american-shakespeare-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2025\/09\/11\/romeo-and-juliet-as-endearing-tweens-at-american-shakespeare-center\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Romeo and Juliet’ as endearing tweens at American Shakespeare Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

The trick to performing a centuries-old hit like Romeo and Juliet<\/em> is simple, but hard to pull off: pretend you have never seen the script before. Go for it with passion, and spontaneity, so you and the audience can forget that everybody already knows half the lines by heart. Leave audiences on the edge of their seat, wondering whether Juliet, perched on high, is really<\/em> going back into bed, or whether she\u2019ll rush back to the balcony once more to catch a glimpse of her gorgeous beau.<\/p>\n

The beauty of the American Shakespeare Center\u2019s rehearsal methods \u2014 drawing on those of Shakespeare\u2019s original company \u2014 is that spontaneity is reintroduced, by necessity. And those methods have a huge payoff in this fall\u2019s production of the Bard\u2019s ever-popular romantic classic. It\u2019s bawdy, brassy; it kicks you in the gut (and other nether regions) and gives you a night to remember.<\/p>\n

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Isabel Lee Roden as Juliet, Angela Iannone as Friar Lawrence, and Nick Ericksen as Romeo in \u2018Romeo and Juliet.\u2019 Photo by Lindsey Walters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget that the original romantic couple, the inspiration for this play, were essentially middle-schoolers. Shakespeare makes a point of reminding us, time after time, that Romeo and Juliet are still kids wrestling with feelings over which they have no control. And they\u2019re surrounded by peers who have no ability to control their impulses either. The urges to violence and sex are strong throughout their young cohort, and it is the failure to master either impulse that is at the heart of the tragedy.<\/p>\n

What makes this production especially endearing is that Nick Ericksen and Isabel Lee Roden, in the title roles, embrace their inner tween selves. Ericksen\u2019s Romeo is a dreamboat, to be sure, but clearly awkward in his newly-tall, newly-muscular body. No sooner does he make you swoon with a line or two than he falls flat on his face \u2014 his pratfalls are priceless, and perfectly timed. And Roden\u2019s physical impulsiveness, coupled with the way she just bursts out with Juliet\u2019s lines, convinces you that she\u2019s never had these thoughts, let alone spoken them, ever before. The couple offer us a truly fresh take on familiar themes, and it\u2019s a joy to watch.<\/p>\n

Romance aside, fair Verona has its share of characters; you need look no further than Romeo\u2019s bosom pals, Benvolio and Mercutio. Geoffrey Warren Barnes II and Sara Linares seem to have come straight out of the Montague locker room, with their boozy, bawdy playfulness on full display. Team Montague clearly loves to party, and they\u2019ll run through every sexual metaphor imaginable, and maybe come up with a new one or two. Barnes and Linares rule the stage with their debauched attitudes; even their hangovers are priceless.<\/p>\n

Joe Mucciolo\u2019s Tybalt, on the other hand, from Team Capulet, reminds us of the darker side of youth, with its impulse to rage and destruction. When Tybalt discovers that Romeo has crashed the Capulets\u2019 party, it\u2019s everything Lord Capulet can do to avoid a bloodbath right there on the dance floor. What\u2019s fascinating is to realize that even the grownups here have their own impulses. As Lord Capulet, Christopher Seiler has no sooner calmed down Tybalt\u2019s rage than he re-engages with his own inner teen, spontaneously combusting when he discovers that Juliet has no interest in marrying the man he\u2019s picked out for her.<\/p>\n

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Nick Ericksen as Romeo and Isabel Lee Roden as Juliet in \u2018Romeo and Juliet.\u2019 Photos by Lindsey Walters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Paris, the man Juliet is supposed to marry, Britt Michael Gordon gives us a solid dude, who knows he\u2019s entitled to the girl who will get him the right connections and just the right amount of dough in the bargain. In true Renaissance fashion, he also shows off his chops as a troubadour (the song selection owing more to Justin Timberlake, in this instance), and unintentionally plays just the right tune for Romeo and Juliet\u2019s first romantic encounter.<\/p>\n

The pivotal figure in any production of Romeo and Juliet<\/em> is Friar Lawrence, and this production features one of the strongest, most authoritative friars you will ever see. It is tempting, perhaps out of deference to the leads, to play the monk as meek and mild, forgetting the highly politically charged environment in which this Renaissance Italian friar moved. Angela Iannone, thankfully, ditches the meek-and-mild bit, taking hold of the role with a cunning and passion that reminds us how vitally important Lawrence\u2019s decisions are. And as those well-laid plans begin to fall apart, Lawrence is not above subterfuge and deception to make sure this young couple survives; monks in those days had spiritual authority and gravitas, and Iannone doesn\u2019t hesitate to remind us.<\/p>\n

Music Director Christopher Seiler has created a tight ensemble for pre-show and intermission, and the evening kicks off brilliantly with a moving rendition of Stevie Wonder\u2019s \u201cLove\u2019s in Need of Love Today,\u201d with Geoffrey Warren Barnes II leading a troupe whose harmonies will give you chills. Maya Danks, this production\u2019s loquacious Nurse, also has a fine turn singing Melissa Etheridge\u2019s \u201cCome to My Window\u201d at intermission. The show features live musical accompaniment throughout as well, with Britt Michael Gordon serenading us as Paris, after his pre-show take on Death Cab for Cutie\u2019s \u201cI Will Follow You Into the Dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Weslar\u2019s costumes here are wonderfully evocative, with richly-textured patchwork jackets and harem pants for the younger folk and straight-laced business attire for the adults \u2014 or, should I say, the ones who feel obliged to at least dress as grownups. Her Romeo sports bright yellow jeans, strategically distressed, to offset Juliet\u2019s green sweats and thickly-soled, glittery sneakers, fashion statements that go a little over my head but which I\u2019m sure the younger audience members will glom onto.<\/p>\n

As the time approaches for fall foliage and apples by the peck and bushel, the ASC stands ready to welcome you with its repertory. Romeo and Juliet<\/em> is just the beginning of what should be another great season of classic shows \u2014 Two Gentlemen of Verona<\/em> comes up next, and there will be a world premiere of The Pirate Ballad of Bonny and Read,<\/em> celebrating the exploits of two of the Caribbean\u2019s most notorious women.<\/p>\n

Running Time: Two hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission.<\/p>\n

Romeo and Juliet<\/strong> <\/a><\/em>plays through November 15, 2025, in repertory with Two Gentlemen of Verona<\/strong> <\/a><\/em>(September 11 to November 15) and the world premiere of The Pirate Ballad of Bonny and Read 2025<\/strong><\/a><\/em> (October 16 to November 16) presented by\u00a0American Shakespeare Center<\/a>\u00a0at the Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 South Market Street, Staunton, VA. For tickets (starting at $39), call the box office at (540) 851-3400 or purchase them\u00a0online.<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>ASC also offers a Local Rush deal of 50% off tickets on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Learn more\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Cast and artistic team credits for Romeo and Juliet<\/em>\u00a0are online here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The fall season program is online here.<\/a><\/p>\n