Donde estas Romeo?

I recently had the privilege of attending BYU Young Company's "Romeo and Julieta" on Wednesday February 7th. You may have been just as intrigued as I was considering the title had changed languages. In this specific hour-long production designed for young audiences, the piece was portrayed in both the English and Spanish language. While hesitant at the prospect of a bilingual Shakespeare (especially made for children), I thoroughly enjoyed the production. The bilingual nature of the show contributed to the timeless family feud. However, the additional music sometimes distracted from the main focus.

The directional bilingual decision was interesting considering the targeted audience is children. Yet I felt that the bilingual appeal not only adds to the story, but makes it more applicable. At one point in this Shakespeare rendition, one of the party members, referring to Romeo, explains he knows that Romeo is a Montague because of his voice. This line has never made sense to me as a play set in Italy, yet with the bilingual and multi-cultural layer added, this line, as well as the plot itself, becomes more clear. With that, the plot becomes more applicable. Living in an age when culture clash and discrimination is still present in daily living, the tragedy becomes more real to the audience members.

One thing I did notice about the show was the musical additions. The actors, at several points during the production, made music via whistling, pounding, stomping, "oo"ing, and singing. While musical additions often added to the mood, there were several points that it distracted from it. A monologue given by Romeo, for example, expressing his love for a "dead" Julieta is often more powerful when silence accompanies and the audience does not have to dig through layers of sound to find it. Considering the fact that the cast stayed on stage for the entire production, it was important to utilize them, however, it was distracting when used at the incorrect moments.