My overall impression
R&J was a fascinating take on a story I’ve seen 100 times, but found myself with a renewed curiosity on this one. I’ve seen cross-dressed Shakespeare before, but the concept of actually switching all of the genders (including reversed pronouns) was novel to me. Mary Ellen Schneider plays “Romea” with power yet femininity, and Dane Oliver plays “Julian” with the guilessness of a young boy, but still an undeniable masculinity. These machinations force a very interesting reexamination of the gender politics of the play, especially in the relationship between Julian and the now Lady Capulet. The palpable chemistry between Schneider and Oliver drives the story very nicely, making the love scenes quite provocative (aided in no small part by the costuming during these moments). An additional highlight was Alan Blumenfeld’s Nurse. Not to slight any of the fine actresses I’ve seen do the role before, but the combination of Blumenfeld’s portrayal, the cut of the play (which was superb, by the way), and his relationship with Julian made this my favorite Nurse I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend the show to any Shakespeare fans out there.
