Published in the Weekly Volcano, Jan. 7, 2016
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| Jenna McRill as Juliet and Niclas Olson as Romeo in rehearsal. Photo by Kelsey Harrison |
I can’t help but wonder why in the
world any actor or any director or producer would want to do Romeo and
Juliet when it’s already been done so many times in so many ways. Niclas
Olson says, “I think a lot of it has
to do with how much content is stuffed into the play. As a producer, I tend to
look for plays where every character has a real arc and vital role in the
story. And each of the nine actors in our adaptation has that opportunity. But
there are other producers who can look at the script and see a great opportunity
for big fight scenes. Or there’s, obviously, a phenomenal love story. And if we
talk about great roles for women, something I placed high on my priority list
this season, Juliet, the Nurse, and Lady Capulet are all incredible. And when
you add the general name recognition, as a producer it’s almost impossible not
to find a reason to like Romeo and Juliet.”
Olson, Managing Artistic Director of New Muses Theatre Company has
written yet another adaptation of the Shakespeare classic and will direct it
and play the part of Romeo when the company does Romeo and Juliet at Dukesbay Theater in Tacoma.
“When I was a teenager, I think this is a role I wanted to play
purely out of ego. Because everybody has heard of Romeo. But now, having
played a lot of really good parts, and some famous parts with the same kind of
name recognition, I’m drawn to Romeo because he’s a character who feels everything
so incredibly powerfully. Every emotion, whether it’s love, or anger, or
despair, just hits him like a ton of bricks and he just carries that into his
everyday life. He’s a guy that you absolutely believe can fall in love at
first sight, or go off the rails in a murderous rage. And as an emotionally
bottled up modern male, that’s a very interesting journey for me to take. Plus,
he has some of the most incredibly beautiful lines Shakespeare ever wrote, and
nothing is more amazing as an actor than getting to work on amazing writing,”
Olson says.
Deanna Martinez, who plays the Nurse, says: “The richness of the
text allows for layered performance: an actor's dream. Of course, all of Shakespeare
is comprised of rich text. Romeo and
Juliet's added benefit is that it is relatable. I have never been an
undermined monarch or vengeful witch, but I have been young and stupid in love.
And, now that I am a smidge older and wiser, I have looked at the young people
in my life and shaken my head at their youthful ardor. We have been the young
lovers, we have been angry parents, we have ached for reconciliation, like the
friar. As actors, we can help the audience connect to this perennial favorite.”
New Muses’ production will be set in Verona, Italy, as was the
original, but in modern times. The costuming is all modern, and cell phones take
the place of the many messengers found in the original text.
Another major change is that Benvolio (Sara Geiger) is now played
by, and as, a woman. “Modernizing the setting gives us the leeway to include
more women in fantastic roles, and draws out interesting characteristics in the
friendship between Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio,” Olson says.
Steve Gallion plays Lord Capulet. Geiger (recently seen in Olympia
Family Theatre's The Abolitionist's Wife and in Theater Artists Olympias
Improbable Peck of Plays) plays Benvolio. Jenna McRill (Logaqinne in The Putnam
County Spelling Bee at Tacoma Musical Playhouse) plays Juliet. Tony Onorati
plays Mercutio, Emily Robinson Lady Capulet, and Steven Walker plays Tybalt,
and Laurence is played by Lance Zielinski.
“We aren’t force
feeding a history lesson down anyone’s throat or sticking our noses in the air
because we’re doing “Shakespeare" with a giant capital S,” Olson says.
“This is Shakespeare being produced because 400 years ago some guy in London
wrote a really good play.”
Romeo and Juliet, Friday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. Jan.
15-31, $10, Dukesbay Theater, Merlino Arts Center, 508 S. Sixth Ave., Tacoma
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