The Romeo and Juliet playing this month in Zilker Park is a perfect evening of summer Shakespeare. A play we all know, streamlined, given an apt and intriguing twist, with a production outdoors. The Sheffield Theatre is in fact just a stage situated below a bowl-shaped meadow. We the spectators are invited to sprawl on our blankets or bring our own folding chairs. The stage is wide, the players are amplified, and the full moon scales the sky as the plot unfolds.
Ann Ciccolella's concept is a nifty one. She situates the familiar story of love and family rivalry in a "Pachuco" setting in the 1940's. For example, the Capulets' party in Act II becomes Julieta's quinceañera, the traditional Latin American coming-of-age party recognizing with a girl's 15th birthday her new status as a woman. In a patriarchical culture, however, a girl ripe for marriage does not necessarily have the freedom to choose a husband. From that enduring and inevitable conflict the story of the star-cross'd lovers evolves.
Important to note, however: the director and company are not making West Side Story without music. There's no facile separation between Anglo Texans and Spanish-speaking Tejanos. Though the publicity mentions "Central Texas," there's not a cowboy in sight. These are rival families of Mexican aristocrats, bristling at one another in the small world of a Mexican town.
Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .
wow. michael thanks so much. O FYI we run thru Sun June 7
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