Expecting the Unexpected: Well, for the Most Part

Expecting the Unexpected: Well, for the Most Part

Romeo and Juliet onstage at the PAR in Montgomery College on Wednesday, November 16th was a fun experience. It was my first Shakespeare play and I thought that for the most part it was very well done. For a play like Romeo and Juliet, mostly everyone already knows the story and the setting, and so we judge the actors and props on a higher scale. We as the audience already know what they are going to say, we just want to see how well they do it. In my opinion, there were some characters were portrayed by very good actors and some by very bad actors.

My favorite characters were the Friar, Juliet, and Mercutio. I am not sure if the Friar's white hair was really Gil Leigh's hair or not, but I think that not only did he absolutely look the part, but he played it really well too. He was the best. Another part well played was Nadya Chacon as Juliet. She looked young like Juliet is supposed to be. Also her sweet, giddy personality was fantastically done, and her lines held more emotion than many of the other characters, even Romeo. Lastly was the amazing Mercutio. I am sure that this was the highlight of the show for every audience member, whether positive or negative. Joey Ibanez's grouping and sexual jokes made an otherwise boring show more entertaining for the college-aged audience. I also learned that the prince and Mercutio were related, when the prince ran to his dead body after banishing Romeo from Verona.

But not all the characters were played with such enthusiasm and skill. The absolute worst one was Lord Montague played by David Hack. He had the worst voice for acting, and I found myself inwardly cringing every time he spoke. Not to mention that he showed no facial expressions. Another disappointing character was Ravi Khanna as Count Paris. He, like Montague, lacked the facial expressions and failed to portray the confident, haughty personality of the real Paris. I also disliked his make-up of bright pink cheeks and pale foundation, which was visible from the second row.

Another interesting point of the play was the set design. They had one balcony/bedroom and three separate archways. I really enjoyed seeing how they moved them around the stage for each scene. I heard many people groaning every time they moved the set around, and my mom thought it was hilarious, but I liked it because it was something different. Also, the sun/moon