Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet: Hello, Young Lovers

Running Time: 3 hrs

St. Edward's University has mounted a lavish production of Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed lovers and, for the most part, it is an enjoyable, educational -- albeit long -- night of romance and comedic and dramatic irony, with some intense swashbuckling.

There are many fine performances by the young cast. Robin Thompson is fabulous as Juliet, as innocent as she is determined. Watching her return repeatedly to the balcony to get just one more exchange with her newfound love is charming. Finally, she confesses to Romeo, "I have forgot why I did call thee back," which is both endearing and gratifyingly realistic of the smitten girl. Gabriel Luna makes a gentle, brooding Romeo; he connects clearly with the poetry of his character, his portrayal honest and strong, although his diction sometimes gets stuck in a single rhythm. Dustin Gooch, as the pratfall-prone servant Peter, steals his scenes with simple, comedic clarity. Jeffery Mills turns the usually bland Benvolio into something much stronger and more engaging, though as he grows more and more excited he grows harder and harder to understand. That's youth: Most of the young cast deal excellently with the language, though all tend to slip in and out of a rather predictable rhythm, especially in the more energetic scenes.

Guest director Michael Costello has staged the play virtually uncut, and this affords patrons the chance to really get to know Shakespeare's exquisite language, particularly the sense that not only are the lovers pawns at the hands of Fate, but that decision after decision by the hot-tempered, feuding Montagues and Capulets is ill-advised when the peaceful alternative is so bloody (or bloodlessly) obvious. Costello has his near 30-member cast executing this play as a tight unit to create an intimate sense of Shakespeare's Verona. Gary van der Wege's set design deserves special commendation. But the director has blocked most key moments in obscure stage positions, which lessens the impact of Romeo and Juliet's first kiss, or the death of Mercutio under Romeo's arm, or most of the balcony scene (where Romeo's back is all that half the house can see).

The swordfight deaths of the fiery Tybalt and mercurial Mercutio mark the turning point in both play and production, not for the better. Two major milestones have passed as the conclusion to the fierce swordplay complements the end of the romantic chase. All that is left is for the tale to slowly unwind -- and in this uncut production that pauses for a set change after each scene, it is very slowly -- to its tragic end.