Aggressive Shakespearian Drama in Door County

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Photo by Heidi Hodges

Door Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Mercutio (Jonathan Contreras), Benvolio (Ethan Hightire), and Romeo (George Lorimer) in Door Shakespeare's ‘Romeo and Juliet’

The classic tensions between two families collide in aggressive drama as Door Shakespeare presents Romeo and Juliet. Director DiMonte Henning moves the action across the stage quite fluidly as the Capulets and the Montagues fall into various tragic entanglements. The drama stretches out beneath a great tree in a magical, little wooded area in Baileys Harbor in Door County. 

Longtime Milwaukee theater veteran Mark Corkins summons wit, excitement and towering dominance in equal measures as Lord Capulet. The matriarch finds some initial distress and unrest in his house when Romeo--a member of the opposing family appears at his place during a celebration. George Lorimersummons all of the requisite energies of a young man tossed from one passion to the next in the role of Romeo. There at the party, Romeo swiftly falls in love with Lord Capulet’s daughter Juliet, who is played with a great deal of joy and energy by Noelle Young-Davis. Todd Denning lends particularly dynamic depth to the role of Friar Laurence, who seeks to remedy the problems of love between two young children of rival families.

Henning has found an even balance between all of the members of the ensemble. All too often, productions of Romeo and Juliet are weighted too heavily in the direction of the title characters with all of the family drama drawn around them coming as something of an afterthought when it should be the driving force of the tragedy. Henning has assembled a textured and compelling cast to fuel the conflict that imperils the young lovers. The darkness surrounding the title characters cleverly illuminates the dark complexities of human aggression which continue to plague humanity into the present age and beyond. 

Door Shakespeare’s production of Romeo and Juliet runs through August 16 at Björklunden, 7590 Boynton Lane, Baileys Harbor. For ticket reservations and more, visit doorshakespeare.com. This review was based on a preview performance.