By Priya Hutner ·
I had the great pleasure of attending the opening night of this year’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” at the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival with friend and educator, Jill Mitchell.
The setting at Sand Harbor is brilliant with beautiful Lake Tahoe as the backdrop. The evening was cool for July with a gentle wind coming off the lake. I was happy to have my sweater.
Community Engagement Manager Rae Matthews met us and led us to our seats as she told us a little bit about this year’s show. Along the way we met Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee and Executive Director Bob Taylor, both were enthusiastic and excited about the season and opening night in particular.
Executive Director Bob Taylor, Community Engagement Manager Rae Matthews and Producing Artistic Director Charles Fee are among the many staff and volunteers that put together each production of the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. | Priya Hutner
We ordered dinner from Brimm’s Catering Co. and settled back with a bottle of Pinot Noir, Spinach Salad and Fish Tacos. Everything was delicious.
The stage was set with a large fragment of a Renaissance wall being held up by modern scaffolding. As the play begins. I am transported to Verona, Italy, but not during Shakespeare’s time. This is an early 20th Century version of “Romeo and Juliet” and finds the Capulets and the Montagues feuding in in the late 1920s when the city is recovering from the World War I. The Prince of Verona has issued an edict that anyone caught dueling will be put to death.
It is here that we are thrown into the world of young Romeo, whose fallen in love with Juliet thus setting us up for the age-old story of illicit love, filled with the danger of being caught and either disowned, as in Juliet’s case, or possible death in Romeo’s case.
The costumes were fun and fit the time period with the noblemen dressed in well-cut suits and Bowler, Derby and Fedora hats, while the women donned flapper-style dresses.
“There is an intensity of the show that is emphasized by the time period. It is a time of tense conflict set in a recognizable and highly volatile time of political strife during Mussolini’s rise to power,” Matthews explains.
Romeo (actor Matt Schwader) discovers his lost love Juliet (actor Hillary Clemens) in Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” · Joy Strotz | Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival
Romeo, played by Matt Schwader, and Juliet, played by Hillary Clemens, are married to each other in real life. And, there are a number of romantic liaisons occurring both on stage and behind the scenes. Lady Capulet (Erin Partin) and Lord Capulet (Mic Matarese) are married, as is Friar Laurence (Lynn Robert Berg) and the Nurse (Laura Welsh Berg), and Gregory of the Capulets (Joe Atack) and Sister Mary John (Kate Atack). Benvolio (Pedar Benson Bate) is engaged to ensemble member Meredith Lark. This was a fun tidbit of information as electricity between the actors was evident.
There is a great attention to detail that went into the production to include the audience in the show and enable us to be deeply immersed in the story, the actors enter and exit up and down the aisles amidst the theatergoers drawing us in and creating an even more intimate experience. There were also some intense dueling and fight scenes.
Romeo stole the show for me. I thought he offered a powerful performance. And, yet in a production of this nature, the quality of all of the actors and their talent show through. It was a lovely evening.
“It was such a pleasure to see this Shakespearean favorite in the Sand Harbor venue. The 1920s costumes, along with the backdrop of a renaissance wall and modern scaffolding, provided a thought-provoking setting to this timeless love story,” Mitchell said after the show.
“Romeo and Juliet” runs through Aug. 23. The Shakespeare Festival also is producing a second show this year, “The Fantasticks,” a romantic musical about a young couple, two feuding fathers and an infinite love that transcends time. And, don’t miss the Monday Night Showcase Series when every Monday during the 2015 season with evenings filled with music and entertainment.
For information or to purchase tickets, visit laketahoeshakespeare.com.
“Romeo and Juliet” and “The Fantasticks”
Tues.-Sun. until Aug. 23 | 7:30 p.m.
$15-$89 | Discount for two-show package
Mindi Abair
Aug. 3 | 7:30 p.m.
$29-$89
Miracle in the Andes with Nando Parrado
Aug. 10 | 7:30 p.m.
$50-$125
Beatles at the Beach with Reno Philharmonic Orchestra
Aug. 17 | 7:30 p.m.
$50-$110
“Midsummer Nightmare: Xistence”
Aug. 27 & 28 | 7:30 p.m.
$32-$89
“Perfectly Frank” featuring Bobby Caldwell
Sept. 5 | 7:30 p.m.
$25-$75
Trails & Vistas World Concert
Sept. 12 | 6:30 p.m.
$23-$68
