It’s no surprise that tickets for “Romeo & Juliet,” performed by Community’s Ensemble Theater, sold out. After its well received showing of “Little Shop of Horrors” a few months back, CET followed it up with one of the most iconic plays of all time. “Romeo & Juliet” tells the story of two lovers, separated by a family feud who do whatever they can to be together. CET’s version of “Romeo & Juliet” maintains the emotions evoked by the original play, but adds a comedic and modern twist, appealing to any high school student, parent or grandma. The play was so popular that CET even decided to sell discounted tickets to students who wanted to watch the dress rehearsal the Wednesday before the weekend the play was set to take place.
In his first year as CET’s director, Quinn Strassel surpassed expectations once again by beautifully twisting “Romeo & Juliet.” Strassel added a hip-hop performance, a Batman theme party, new and improved weapons and video chatting to modernize the show.
The play is driven by the emotionally gripping performances of the story’s two main protagonists, Romeo, played by Community senior Gil Eisbruch, and Juliet, Pioneer junior Sara Long. Generally seen as a funny man, Eisbruch gets serious in his role as Romeo, conveying feelings of depression, sadness, loss and love. When Romeo meets Juliet for the first time, Eisbruch convinces each member of the audience that he’s never seen anyone as beautiful as Long before, and immediately has an emotional connection with her. Throughout the play, Long and Eisbruch feed off one another with an unparalleled chemistry.
Long was the more experienced of the two, having been a part of several plays before, including another Shakespearean play, “The Taming of The Shrew,” where she played Katherina.
“[This role] is a lot harder on my emotions but it is so worth it,” said Long after a Friday night performance. “It’s a lot more challenging to get the characterization perfect.”
The stars of the show were supported by an array of interesting characters, especially the supplementary roles performed by Dylan Croasdill, Megan Shiplett, and Murphy Austin.
Croasdill perfectly portrays the Nurse to Juliet, creating a Monty Pythonic character who flits about, exaggerates all of her gestures, creepily smiles in adoration and speaks in a falsetto tone. Croasdill provides comic relief as the audience breaks into a smile each time he enters the stage.
Shiplett plays Mercutio, the pompous, but close, friend of Romeo. Before her death at the hand of Tybalt, darkly portrayed by Sarah Holmes, Shiplett monologues about, dramatizing her speech and actions while spicing her role with a hint of modern day sexuality. She even keeps her light air while taking her last breaths, laughing off the pain as she falls to her knees.
Austin plays Paris, Juliet’s undesirable love interest, an immature boy who looks as if he would attend only the most prestigious schools in the country. With a skip in his step and a cockiness to his speech, Austin also provides comic relief for the audience.
Smaller roles were not only limited to students; Ken McGraw and Judith DeWoskin, Community teachers, held speaking parts as Capulet and Princess Escalus, respectively. A menacing poster of McGraw hangs on the wall above the side-stage and McGraw maintains this demeanor throughout – his full grown beard forces audiences to recognize him as an adult figure. McGraw has also perfected a frown that displays his anger at the Montagues. Although she has less lines, DeWoskin’s role as chief of police is enticing as she stands as a barrier between the two feuding families in a black trench coat, announcing the crimes committed.
Strassel and his art crew deserve applause for their set design – using the main stage as the setting of Juliet’s bedroom, Strassel and his crew built a balcony that stretches above the audience, the site of many romantic rendezvous between Romeo and Juliet. Yet, most of the action takes place on a side stage at floor level which allows for more space during the battle scenes.
Strassel and his band of talented actors, tech students and set designers did a wonderful job modernizing one of the world’s most well-known stories. Each part is acted to near perfection and Strassel has outdone himself once again. Community students, teachers and parents should look forward to CET’s next showing, the play “Rhinoceros,” because if it lives up to half the hype caused by Romeo & Juliet, it will surely be wonderful.
