SHAKESPEARE ON THE SOUND—ROMEO AND JULIET. We went to the Shakespeare on the Sound’s production of Romeo and Juliet on what (because of rain) turned out to be opening night. All the little rises and valleys in the park were filled. (Mary Jane points out that I always count the house). The audience was completely absorbed in the play. Although the production had advertised a new frame for the play which imagined the play as being performed by a group of friends, the frame was given little importance and, notably, disappeared at the end of the play. Perhaps because there were only ten actors there were no crowd scenes. The brawl in the opening scene was omitted, and the party scene where Romeo and Juliet meet was brief. The focus was on the lovers and not on the two warring families.
The spare production highlighted the poetry, and the musical settings supported the poetry. The performers found new insights in the language. The set provided a series of raised islands where characters, often isolated, spoke their hearts. As Mary Jane said, the play seemed a series of highlights. There was one magical scene, the balcony scene, with Romeo and Juliet isolated, with Romeo on an island in the audience, and Juliet joyously flying from one part of the stage to the other, two lonely people discovering another person.