Nowhere else but Fair Verona is love and hate so swift and immediate than in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

American Repertory Theater reveals love, rage, loyalty, and passion in an ominous production that integrates a number of Shakespeare’s signature elements.  Director Diane Paulus remarkably illustrates ‘what could have been’ in a haunting sequence of the best laid plans and Emilia Suárez as Juliet is not only beautiful, naïve and headstrong, but depicted in a heightened and more thought provoking manner while adding new dimensions to this classic star crossed love story. 

Directed meaningfully by Diane Paulus and captivating choreography by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui with raw and memorable fight choreography by Thomas Schall, American Repertory Theater kicks off its 45^th season with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet continuing live and in person at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts through October 6.  The production is two hours and 45 minutes including one intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet delves into the war between feuding families the Montagues and Capulets.  However, when Rudy Pankow as Romeo Montague sets his eyes on Emilia Suárez as Juliet Capulet, their worlds are forever changed.

The war between the Capulet and the Montague families take center stage from the production’s first scene and the hate proves as instantaneous as Romeo and Juliet falling in love at first sight – unreasonable, unbridled, and unyielding. Tensions rise and escalate quickly as both clans face off over a gesture on the street.   Amy Rubin’s grand wooden and transformative set pieces which includes a tower that billows smoke, reflects the weighty love and rage contained in these characters who occasionally labor to shift these symbolic set pieces during the production.

Jen Schriever’s dynamic lighting fuels a beautifully contemporary Capulet masquerade with luminous orbs, hazy spotlights and special effects alongside Daniel Lundberg’s mix of foreboding, ethereal and pulsing sound design, but truly shines later in a harrowing display of chilling shadows. 

Romeo and Juliet features a strong and compelling cast highlighted by Terrence Mann as herbalist Friar Laurence.  In tattoos and pulled back hair, Terrence Mann boasts a meaty and enhanced role including part narrator and providing some musical accompaniment on a ukulele.  With sharp dramatic and comic timing, Mann as Friar is stoic, sensible and is humorous in his understandable exasperation and weariness reflecting some the audience’s thoughts as he aspires to advise impulsive Romeo and Juliet.

Emilia Suárez as young and love struck Juliet is riveting from her first meeting with passionate and insistent Romeo and later as she agonizes over the excruciating decisions in front of her, almost losing herself in what feels like an Ophelia-like moment during a scene with Sharon Catherine Brown as Juliet’s compassionate and supportive Nurse.  It is chilling, brilliant and adds another dimension to this complex character.    

Emilio Sosa’s detailed costume design varies from fishnets, ripped jeans and leather to stately and glittering formalwear.  Brown has an enviable wardrobe in floral multicolor dresses and jackets right down to her fabulous boots.  With a glowing smile, Brown shares a protective and sweet rapport with Juliet and while the Nurse is sometimes depicted with a more maternal instinct than Juliet’s mother, it is not necessarily the case here.  Glamorous Nicole Villamil as Lady Capulet may be preoccupied by social matters at times and aware of her limited power as a wife, but has a heartfelt affection for Juliet and wants what is best for her.  Mann and Brown also share a memorably amusing scene together, demonstrating they may be the only rational characters in this tale. 

Terence Archie is dignified and confident as Lord Capulet, even during a moment where he knocks on a wooden set piece.  Archie’s clever turn of Shakespeare’s lines feel contemporary and relatable as Juliet’s father especially in a powerful scene with Juliet later in the production. 

From a Hawaiian shirt and sneakers to a multicolored cardigan, Clay Singer’s Mercutio is a teasing, raunchy and saucy presence and may keep you guessing whether Singer is flirting or fighting with the other characters.  Singer plays the darker undertones and unpredictability of this pivotal character with playful yet protective gallantry and shares some mischievous antics with Brandon Dial as warm hearted and earnest Benvolio.  In a black fishnet shirt and leather, Alex Ross as tumultuous Tybalt is a disquieting and menacing force onstage escalating in a gripping scene with Singer, Pankow, and Dial.

Though the production is a bit lengthy, American Repertory Theater delivers an enhanced tale that adds new dimensions to these classic characters which culminate in a unique and insightful epilogue demonstrating that hope rises even in the bleakest of times.   

American Repertory Theater presents Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet live and in person at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts through October 6.  The production is two hours and 45 minutes including one intermission.  Click here for more information and for tickets.