My overall impression
I had no idea what to expect walking into Star-Cross’d but I love movement/dance as well as Romeo and Juliet so I had high hopes! Unfortunately, those were not met. All the “movers” in this piece are on the low end of technically skilled and not a single one exhibited vulnerability or real emotion (a clear must when playing Romeo and Juliet). The lighting design was distracting and misguided, the costumes were unspecific and cheesy (I’m pretty sure they were attempting to suggest the Middle East as a location but it was poorly executed). The director used pantomime for plot points instead of trusting the visceral movement to do the work. One of the more painful moments was the sex scene where Juliet was was riding Romeo like Justin McBride center-stage (and fully clothed?) under red, shadowy lighting. Trust me, I love a raunchy sex scene as much as the next broad but Juliet is a young virgin having sex for the first time…this makes no sense. I did enjoy the company dance in the party scene where R & J meet for the first time as well as the dance in the tomb with Romeo and a “dead” Juliet. I think this young director had a good idea but needs a lot more practice to get it right.
