The Houston Shakespeare Festival successfully kicked off its summer season Friday and Saturday at the Miller Outdoor Theatre with two of Shakespeare’s famous plays: Love’s Labor’s Lost and Romeo And Juliet. From the set design to the acting, Saturday’s performance of the timeless story of the stra-crossed lovers was a hit.
Even if one hasn’t read Romeo and Juliet in years, once the opening lines of the first scene are recited, one quickly remembers them – a testament to how classic a play this is. It was obvious from the first moments that a great amount of detail was put into the creation of the play’s set, and it was impressive to see streetlights swinging down from the theatre roof along with other props that helped set the mood.
Andrew Love made his debut in the role of Romeo, but one could hardly tell it was his first appearance at the festival: He portrayed the lovesick character as genuinely as Shakespeare himself could have expected. Jessica Boone played the female protagonist, Juliet, and did an excellent job in her role.
However, the character who stole the show was Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin and good friend who tried to distract him from his non-stop love-related woes. Played by Melissa Davis, Benvolio was the absolute highlight of every scene she was in. While Romeo’s cousin is a male in the original play, Davis’ performance showed that the role was better played by a female.
Another character who had a great performance was Friar Lawrence, played by Rutherford Cravens. Cravens also performed in the previous night’s production of Love’s Labor’s Lost. Along with Craven, Justin Doran acted in both plays, as Count Paris, the man with whom Juliet’s father pairs her for an arranged marriage in Romeo and Juliet, and as Ferdinand in Love’s Labor’s Lost.
Romeo and Juliet featured a little bit of everything: the drama, of course, but also moments of laughter. The inclusion of the crowd by the actors was excellent. During well-known lines of the play, an actor would look toward the audience, and the crowd would laugh as it filled in the words. In addition, there were several funny scenes that helped to keep things light during the dramatic play. The production also featured nice background music that set the tone for scenes, including one memorable bass line.
Admission to this timeless play is free, and if you weren’t able to score tickets the day they were released, bring a blanket and stretch out on the enormous lawn with food and drinks.
