The lights open on up on an angular, stoic stone set. The date represented by the architecture of the set is uncertain and open for interpretation. With square columns and arched windows, one cannot tell when or where this production takes place.

This sense of mystery and ambiguity lends an interesting dynamic to the tried-and-true tale of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Theatre NDSU’s production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet” integrates the original play’s text with modern costume and gestures, proving to portray a new dichotomy.

The Capulets, dressed in business attire and done up with care, conveyed a feeling of professionalism that greatly contrasted with the garb of the Montagues. With leather jackets, tattoo sleeves and combat boots, the Montagues portrayed an air of underdog superiority that was almost desirable.

Romeo’s Ziggy Stardust shirt also won me over right from the beginning.

The costuming of the play added a visual component to the animosity between the rivaling Capulet and Montague families. One did not need background or a brief education in Shakespearean tragedy to understand the families’ vendetta as it was presented prominently within a modern context.

The influence of modern culture continues to have a further presence by replacing sword fights with flashlights and police batons and mannerisms typical of the 21st century.

In this aspect, this reinterpretation of “Romeo and Juliet” was a somewhat-experimental production. All the risks the show took were rewarded and supported by the overall success of the show.

The typical Shakespearean style of speech is sometimes impersonable and difficult for the audience to interpret, but Theatre NDSU’s ensemble uses this to their advantage. They take the sophisticated script and humanize it with applicable nonverbal cues.

All of the actors were able to inhabit their characters with extreme understanding of who they are, allowing them to embody the character with confidence and discipline. The actors’ comfort in their character is evident to the audience. Each of the actors’ spirit translated the foreign way of speaking into an easily understandable and thoroughly enjoyable experience for the audience.

The play began with each actor marching onto stage, previewing the tragic, star-crossed love of Romeo and Juliet. This set the stage ominously to be an emotional yet serious retelling. Due to this, the play pushed the line as to how far traditional Shakespearean tropes can be taken.

The excitement of the play doesn’t take its time to build; instead, it begins right away, keeping the audience on their toes.

Abraham, Sampson and Gregory’s bite-my-thumb scene was filled with an underlying sarcasm contributing to the building of tension. The tension wasn’t entirely serious, as with each stern line delivered there was also some accompanying humor.

Throughout the entire duration of the play, the actors expertly find the humor in the classic Shakespearean lilt amidst the plays overarching theme of impending tragedy. On top of this, the actors also bring the humor out in a physical form to relay the scripts message to the audience.

The action of the argument builds into an expertly executed fight scene choreographed by Chelsea Pace. Pace’s fight scenes captured the hatred between the dueling actors, but was also aesthetically pleasant, as those involved were light on their feet, giving the performance a dance-like quality.

The preciseness of the fight scenes lost a bit of their edge when it came to the music accompanying the choreography. The music had a very conflicting message when paired with the seriousness of the fight. This effect took some of the credibility away from the excellent choreography as it was reduced to a novelty scene.

The performance of Romeo and Juliet, portrayed by Alex Kleven and Maggie Zentner, respectively, were nuanced and performed with deliberation. The roles of Romeo and Juliet have been portrayed many times and are so established that there is hardly any room to elaborate and experiment. Kleven and Zentner find themselves as victims to this phenomenon as it is noticeably for them difficult to break out of the molds of their characters and find new ground that hasn’t already been charted.

Plenty other actors left a notable impression with their performance.

One in particular was Kami Sim’s portrayal of the Nurse, which proved to be a crowd favorite. Sim was able to survey the seriousness around here and serve as comedic relief. She found power in her character’s demure outlook and play on it for maximum effect.

Sim’s performance was nuanced and never became overwhelming. She was comfortable in her role and simply acted true to her character.

Another crowd favorite that stood out was Ali Wu’s turn as Mercutio. Wu embodied Mercutio as nitty-gritty, careless and irreverent best friend we all wish we were cool enough to have. Wu’s portrayal boasted an extreme confidence with a calm, cool and collective quality for a charismatic performance.

The performances of the actors did not cease to impress as the play entered its final act.

As the play begins to take a somber turn the actors’ skill really comes into play. When all the consequences of the character’s actions begin to come into play, the actor’s embrace a more serious performance, highlighting each of their emotional ranges.

Some of the production’s more flat roles that don’t really have a character arc went by unnoticed, upstaged other show-stealing minor characters. These roles were included in the script just to serve a purpose and that was about the extent to which they performed on stage. Many of these characters were played as they should be played which is admirable, but did not bring excitement along with them to the role.

NDSU Theatre’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. From the actors’ knack for Shakespearean humor and tragedy to the expertly choreographed fight scenes, the ensemble performs with confidence and discipline. This reinterpretation of the classic Shakespearean tragedy adds to the tale, allowing the audience to leave with more than they came with.

Ticket Information

What: NDSU Theatre’s “Romeo and Juliet”

Where: Askanase Auditorium

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday – Saturday

Price: Free with Student ID