Ay, me! What’s in a name? Would a show by any other name still be so tragic? Probably. The Bard’s Wagon Players have surfaced for their annual summertime “Shakespeare in the Park” production! And this year— the sizzling summer of 2022— it’s none other than the infamous tragedy, Romeo & Juliet. Directed by Nathan Rosen, Produced by Bob Frank, and Stage Managed by Liana Olear, this outdoor offering has two different locations— Hannah More Park in Reisterstown and Catonsville Community Park in Catonsville— over the course of two different weekends, bringing back-to-the-basics Shakespeare to Baltimore County and anyone who wants to come and see it.
The rig itself is one of the more impressive pieces of The Bard’s Wagon Players; it’s literally an old-fashioned traveling troupe wagon that’s been transformed into a stage. With lighting being operated by Kevin Sutton, as the outdoor light these days starts to trickle away somewhere right around the start of curtain time, and sound being operated by Jessica and Jairica Murray (there were some hiccups with he mic system but there is good faith that Murray and Murray will sort this out!) the production comes together in a grass-roots, no frills fashion. Shakespeare’s works were all originally played out in this simplistic fashion and it’s nice to see a company return to the basics. (Though this production is not without its humorous modern touches…like Lord Capulet wearing a “Caps” jersey and Juliet initially wearing one too at the beginning of the production. These little nods of modern humor fall in line with the more traditional costuming choices of Capulets in red and Montagues in blue as is displayed in this performance.) And overall the play moves swiftly; the well-organized and seasoned mind of Stage Manager Liana Olear is in play keeping the play hurdling along under Nathan Rosen’s direction.
This production of Romeo & Juliet features a cast of 14 players, with several doubling up in places, which is a clever way to give certain characters a little bit more stage-time. (Like Mercutio who gets to gate-crash the Capulet tomb at the end as one of the watchmen. Or Fr. Laurence who delivers the prologue at the top of the performance.) Some of the smaller roles— The Prince comes immediately to mind for this performance (as played with robust intent by Ethan Clarkewallis)— have potent and chilling effects when delivering their Shakespearean text. Clarkewallis is only featured on a smattering of scenes but manages to succinctly deliver some deep emotional gravity whenever it is the Prince’s turn to speak. (Though seriously— the Prince laments that he has lost a ‘brace of kinsmen’ at the end. How many are a Brace? Two.)
Lou Clarkewallis, who serves as the Page what does ring up the alarm (or not ring up the alarm, it’s always a little unclear by tomb-time as to who exactly causes all the palaver to get everyone back to Capulet’s tomb for the final scene) and also earlier as the Capulet household servant, delivers a striking presence on stage. Clarkewallis, as the servant, delves into those few lines of pestering Romeo when discovering that the servant character is illiterate. It’s such a small thing, yet in Clarkewallis’ capable hands, it becomes one of those moments you cannot help but notice and enjoy.
The whole Capulet family— both Lord (Sean Eustis) and Lady (Erin Klarner) are blessed with heightened animations of their facial expressions. There is a lot of ‘face’ being served between the pair of them (often Klarner has silent reactive responses to whatever is spewing out of Eustis’ mouth…like at the end of the party where Romeo first meets Juliet and she’s trying to keep him from being a totally blitzed drunk or when she’s trying to calm his temper as he’s railing at Juliet over refusing to marry Paris.) Eustis doubles up hysterically as Peter, the escort to the Nurse and gets some physical shenanigans going on with that parasol and again puts his rowdy facial expressions on display here, much to the audience’s pleasure. (Seriously— watching this bunch and their antics makes one think that R&J should have just been a dark comedy. She’s not even 14, they’ve met for half a second and look how it ends. Dark. Comedy.) Klarner is particularly expressive when trying to speak one set of objections but portray another; this happens most frequently when she’s interacting with Juliet and the Nurse. They are well suited for the matriarchal and patriarchal roles of the House of Capulet.
We don’t get see much of Montague (Nathan Rosen) but his titular-character son Romeo (Daniel Rosen) is the bee’s knees as far as wayward youths sullen and sunk over unrequited love go. When Romeo first stumbles into the scene, Daniel Rosen is giving you the textbook version of this whiny, emo, lost-love teenager. His textual delivery is solid, his command of Shakespeare’s tongue is sturdy (and while there are the occasional reversal of order of words, you almost don’t even notice because Rosen so quickly spits them right back out in their intended order.)
Standing up against Sophie Jacboson’s textbook Juliet, the pair are quite the vision of a traditional Romeo and Juliet. Jacobson, much like Rosen, has a firm handle on the whiny petulance of being a teenager in what she thinks is love. And her rash, emotionally-charged decision making is palpable and present for everyone to experience. It’s super easy to see how these two end up as they do, given the youthful naivete that both Rosen and Jacobson bring to the stage. They do have a striking meet-cute, a slow-motion-spin around the dance floor at that party. (Juliet’s initial costumes are super risqué, and look almost too sexually mature for a girl who’s only supposed to be 13 and some change, but then again, isn’t that how all the rebellious kids are dressing these days?)
The Nurse (Liana Olear) is a character actor come home to graze on all the beautiful comedy that Shakespeare has buried in her text. Olear does a fine job of bringing her own overly excited interpretation to the character, making her lively, overly chatty, and incessantly teasing. Particularly when she’s teasing at Juliet about Romeo, hauling her weary old bones back and forth to play messenger and fetcher of news.
Doubled up as the nerdy and clean-cut County Paris and earlier as the rogue and hot-headed Tybalt, Nick Thompson does a splendid job of creating such a differentiation between these two characters that it almost takes a few moments for you to realize they’re being played by the same actor. That arrogant, unyielding temper flares up during the sword fights and brawls in the streets (shout out to Fight Choreographer Sierra Young whose choreography is safe and effective, if a bit languid in its pacing) gives Thompson’s Tybalt an edge. This is a sharp contrast to the becalmed and almost nerdy County Paris who only wishes love and marriage for his fair Juliet.
Friar Laurence (B. Thomas Rinaldi) is quirky, a little off-kilter, and delivers some fumbling pauses that makes you question the old man of the cloth’s sanity. But this is perfect as he’s the device through which all sins come unionized. (Secret marriages, faking deaths, resurrecting the dead; they all totally fit with a well-respected priest, right?) Rinaldi, like many in the cast, has vivacious facial expressions that really engage you in what’s coming out of his mouth. Your heart drops with his when he encounters Friar John (Ari Knott, who doubles up earlier as Balthazar on the street with Lou Clarkewallis, Erin Klarner, and Sam Klarner during the iconic “thumb-biting” scene) and the exchange they therein have about miscarried letters.
Ironically enough, though both Romeo and Juliet— the title characters, performed to the letter by Daniel Rosen and Sophie Jacobson— are the story’s tragic focal point, you find yourself drawn to Benvolio (Jen Sizer) and Mercutio (Wes Dennis) who do not stop yucking it up, clowning around, and messing about all throughout their stage time. It’s like watching two party-hearty frat brothers living their best life and having a great time with this pair of characters. Sizer and Dennis truly understand the nuances of Shakespeare’s bawdy comedy and are laying it out there every chance they get. While Benvolio exists mostly on the periphery, other than as cousin-counsel to Romeo, Jen Sizer’s performance makes you want Benvolio to be a main character. She’s sharp, humorous, and has exemplary facial responses and body language. So too is true of Wes Dennis’ performance as Mercutio. When he starts waxing bawdy about things, it’s hilarious. He brings a larger than life energy to the stage which really helps to jumpstart some of those duller moments and his abridged Queen Mab speech is fully loaded and well-received.
It’s quite the experience— bring a chair, or lawn blanket, some snacks, plenty of water, and of course— BUG SPRAY. But getting real, live, textbook Romeo & Juliet under the stars with live, in-person players is quite the treat this summer.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission
Romeo & Juliet plays through July 31, 2022 with The Bard’s Wagon Players— July 22-24 at Hannah More Park— 12035 Reisterstown Road, in Reisterstown MD. Tickets for that performance are available here. And July 29-31 at Catonsville Community Park— 501 S. Rolling Road in Catonsville, MD. Tickets for that performance are available here.
