Catching up: Romeo and Juliet Without Words

I've known and loved Prokoviev's Romeo and Juliet score for more than fifteen years, but until last month, I'd never seen the ballet. Films, musical theatre adaptations, puppet shows (in miniature and well, puppet-sized), directed the play twice (three when you count a staged reading); I've performed the text, all seen and done. But never the ballet? How's that possible?

The opening night included sumptuous costumes (by the dozens), outstanding dancing, and an absolutely perfect take on the tragedy. A couple of favorite moments: Richmond Ballet master and, on RJ, choreographer Malcolm Burns allows Igor Antonov and Vallerie Tellmann the time needed to fall in love through prolonged eye contact---such a rarity in any theatre. He also even has the chorus land one dance in which bodies stop moving a second before dresses settle around the dancers, to the last notes of the moment. Simply brilliant.

It was a gorgeous treatment throughout, delighting small children, adults, everyone, and had me a little choked up. At Mercutio's wounding, a man two rows in front of me leaned over to his wife and whispered, with a big smile on his face:

"A scratch, a scratch."

Richmond's terrific offerings include outdoor folk and Shakespeare festivals, performances by symphonies on piers beside the river, (in RJ the Symphony seemed so delightfully comfortable with the dancers---how cool to see their collaboration with the ballet grow with the advantages of the new home), but the ballet company, from design and conception (ages ago, with sets refurbished and looking great), to the astounding artists on stage, I was just thrilled to call myself a Richmonder.

And now from the subline to the ridiculous

(Or maybe riddikkulous.)

I am ridiculously and almost embarrassingly ecstatic to be a part of the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that is being produced by the Richmond Ballet and the Richmond Symphony, with soloists from the Virginia Opera. Grant and I are to be the narrators of the Shakespeare text that goes along with the music and dance.

Now as many of you know, I prefer my Shakespeare pared down, so as to focus the easily distracted modern attention on the actors and the words. But this is a different beast, and in this case--oh my! The sets are stupendous and the sound is just glorious. And I have no words for the dancing (Ok, maybe divine, just because it's alliterative). To be able to match the flow and the meaning of those words with the nuance of the dancer, is almost too much of a good thing. I get chill bumps even thinking of it.

At some point in the day, I thought to myself, "I could do that." But just as quickly, I came to reality and said (or thought) of course I couldn't! They just make it look so effortless, even 15 feet away from me.

I get the privilege of giving voice to Puck (among other characters), and as danced by Danae Carter, I get free rein to use every impish tendency in me (which as we all know, is a lot).

Could I gush more? Probably. But please come if you have the time. If you have as much fun as I do, you'll be dancing to Mendelssohn all the way home!