I went to see Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare in the Parking Lot last night. Sponsored by the Drilling Company, Shakespeare in the Parking Lot involves a couple Shakespeare plays performed in a Lower East Side parking lot (at Ludlow and Broome) for free. I try to go every year because it’s free Shakespeare and lacks the crowd in Central Park.

The set (always minimal at this theater event) involved some cardboard boxes and newspapers – basically trash. The first actors began the play with drums while wearing black clothes and tribal make-up. This drumming occurred throughout the play and added an intensity to the drama, though honestly I’m not sure what exactly they were meant to symbolize. With a guitar and buzz cut, Brad Coolidge played a natural and adorable Romeo. Assistant Artistic Director David Marantz nailed Mercutio with just the right amount of humor and drama. Other talented performances included Laura Johnston as the Nurse, Don Carter as Lord Capulet, and Ron Dreyer as Friar Laurence. Combined with the Lower East Side as a backdrop, these actors created an interesting and engaging production of this timeless play.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Juliet, whose interpretation was, for lack of a better word, goofy. Her physicality and overdramatization of the lines, reminiscent of how some melodramatic actors might play Puck or Ariel, seemed unnatural, unbelievable, and slowed down the pace of the play. I couldn’t help but wonder what this handsome Romeo saw in her! I have always imagined Juliet as the down-to-earth one who balances Romeo’s hopeless romanticism, but I certainly didn’t get that from her version. That being said my companion at the play disagreed with me and found her hilarious…

Other than that exception, I enjoyed the play and look forward to Much Ado About Nothing coming out August 2nd.