Humor animates First Folio's 'Romeo and Juliet'

First Folio Theatre's “Romeo and Juliet” has something you don't typically find in a William Shakespeare tragedy: a sense of humor.

Purists may not appreciate the levity that animates much of the first act of director Nick Sandys' inventive production. But his interpretation has merit in that it astutely reflects the recklessness of youth and unrestrained passion. Sandys depicts the star-crossed lovers as they are: impulsive teens in love, enslaved by their hormones and in over their heads.

Ignoring the advice from the dapper-looking Friar Lawrence (a polished Phil Timberlake) to proceed “wisely and slow,” Kelsey Brennan's appealingly naive Juliet and Will Allan's fervent Romeo behave as many young people do. They are impetuous, melodramatic and impatient. In short, they are teenagers — undone by their passions when left to their own devices by ineffective parents: the absent Montagues, the disapproving Capulets and the feckless spiritual father who abandons his charge in a tomb. As for Juliet's surrogate mother — the always entertaining Annabel Armour as the well-intentioned nurse — her indulgence invites disaster.

The action begins with a rather comical brawl staged by Sandys (an award-winning fight choreographer) that suggests annoyance rather than enmity divides the Capulets and the Montagues. Of course that all changes at the end of act one. Taunts turn vicious and horseplay turns deadly after Luke Couzens' snappish Tybalt (a bully ready for a fight) engages Christan Gray's sardonic Mercutio (a Byronesque provocateur eager to incite one).

That scene heralds a more sober, and in some ways superior, second act. Brennan's performance in particular achieves a subtlety and focus that reflects a newfound maturity. Gone are the portentous thunderclaps that make too obvious the pending storm. The direction is more restrained, the sound effects less obvious, as though Sandys realized the text provides us with all the cues we need to comprehend the story.

Purists will likely be pleased with the more conventional reading, although I'm not sure how they'll feel about Sandys peppering the production with allusions to several other Shakespeare tragedies. Frankly, I found his references to “Richard III,” “Hamlet” and “Macbeth” illuminating. In this slightly menacing, clubfooted incarnation, Gray's glib Mercutio is not that far removed from the “rudely stamped,” silver-tongued seducer, Richard. In pursuing vengeance against the Montagues, Couzen's Tybalt is every bit as relentless as Macbeth while Romeo's dithering evokes Hamlet's indecisiveness. Then there's Patrice Egleston's Lady Capulet, so unnerved by Tybalt's death she takes to haunting her home like Macbeth's lady.

But the references illustrate something else: the madness that results when passion, jealousy, vengeance, ambition and infatuation go unchecked. Feuding families don't destroy Romeo and Juliet. They fall victim to intemperance, immaturity and, sadly, neglect.

Sandys imprints the classic in other ways. There's the homoerotic subtext that animates the exchanges between Mercutio and Tybalt, which is confirmed by the position of their dead bodies. There's the copious use of controlled substances (nearly everyone takes a furtive sip from a jewel-colored vial at some point) that culminates in Gray's jittery, frenetic “Queen Mab” speech, which suggests the drug-adled ramblings of an addict.

Sandys could have played it safe with this well-known tragedy. But where would the fun be in that?

<b>“Romeo and Juliet”</b>

★ ★ ★

<b>Location: </b>First Folio Theatre at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 W. 31st St., Oak Brook, (630) 986-8067 or <a href="http://www.firstfolio.org" target="_blank">www.firstfolio.org</a>

<b>Showtimes: </b>8:15 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday through Aug. 7

<b>Running time: </b>2 hours, 45 minutes, with intermission

<b>Tickets:</b> $25 to $35

<b>Parking: </b>Free lot adjacent to theater

<b>Rating: </b>Suitable for teens and older