I don’t typically post every review or press release about every new interpretation I see, just the ones that catch my eye. Like this one, which sums up much of what we talk about here:
You need to do it old school enough to serve the language and story, but not so old school that it flashes back to mandatory high school reading lists. It’s about splitting time between classic and cool, between poise and unpredictability.
That gets my attention right off the bat, infinitely more than people who talk about having to bring the language up to date. Lose that, you lose the Shakespeare. Keep that, and everything else I think is up to your own interpretation. Then again…
Some characters have been cut, or merged with others; Juliet is now raised by a single mother, for example.
Hmmm. That’s quite the statement to make with your production. The helplessness of Juliet’s situation is pretty crucial to her “I have no choice but to kill myself” logic. How exactly do you get across “Marry the guy I tell you to marry or GTFO” from a single mom??? http://www.24sevencities.com/features/arts/theater/how-juliet-met-romeo.html