Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Designed with eye-popping perspective by Brian Sidney Bembridge, this fast-paced, contemporary, expansive, edgy, testosterone-filled affair certainly has plenty of zip, life and fizzle — and the kind of energetic, sexualized, guttural chutzpah that will ensure that even the most restless highschool audience keeps its collective eye glued to the stage. Props for that. The show also has some exciting and smartly counterintuitive readings of familiar scenes. But for all its flourish, this show runs everywhere and anywhere except near the hearts and souls of its two title characters."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Directed by Karin Coonrod, Melissa Hawkins's 70-minute performance is dancerly but also busy. It could use a great deal more stillness. Even so, certain moments of physicality--such as a hand-puppet version of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet--are stunning, and Hawkins has the presence, conviction, and precision to make a very difficult performance vivid."
Examiner
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Instead of Romeo and Juliet, we get something more along the lines of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Romeo’s defined largely by his hair product. Juliet is a shrill, bratty twit. This isn’t a love story but a puppy love story, with all the heft of the latest Tiger Beat. As for the chemistry between Romeo (Jeff Lillico) and Juliet (Joy Farmer-Clary), it’s about as believable as Brooke Shields and Michael Jackson at the 1981 Oscars."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...Live fast, die young, leave a pretty corpse—this production may be the perfect vehicle for introducing young people to the ( ahem ) classics. Joy Farmer-Clary emotes in full estrogenic frenzy, echoed by Ora Jones' outspoken Nurse. John Judd and Judy Blue lend Mr. and Mrs. Capulet a refreshing depth, as does David Lively to Fr. Laurence, who emerges as a welcome voice of reason. But it's the "lads" who dominate the action, thanks to Rick Sordelet's ingenious combat choreography, with Ariel Shafir's Mercutio and Steve Haggard's Benvolio easily reducing Jeff Lillico's Romeo to a boy-band stripling. Top honors, however, are due Barbara Robertson, whose vocal instruction integrates impeccable phrasing and enunciation so craftily into the operatic/athletic spectacle that we hardly notice that we're watching—shhhhh!—Shakespeare."
Copley News Service
- Highly Recommended
"...The overall production is so solid that it survives the lack of passion and heart from the title characters. And there doubtless will be viewers who consider Lillico and Farmer-Clary just fine. But a staging shouldn’t send the audience out of the theater with more vivid memories of Tybalt, Mercutio, the nurse, and Lord and Lady Capulet than the star-crossed lovers."
Centerstage
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Unfortunately, in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's current production, the actors themselves seem bored by the story. Or more accurately, they seem already aware of how it goes, rather than present within it. The feast scene is an example: When Romeo and Juliet (Jeff Lillico and Joy Farmer-Clary) first lay eyes on each other, they immediately begin winking and signaling; there is no breathless hush, no shock of newness, no momentousness to their encounter. They are less stunned by love than tickled by it. Though at times this approach is charming, as when the pair romps off with Friar Laurence to be wed, it ultimately robs the play of dramatic power."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...
Edwards’s production would be a definitive version of this oft-staged play if it weren’t for a pair of notable absences: Lillico and Farmer-Clary offer lackluster young lovers. This Romeo seems distressingly perky, more likely to be Juliet’s dormitory resident advisor than her world-destroying passion. Poised and lovely in the first half, Farmer-Clary resorts to a good deal of hoarse shouting in the second. Romeo and Juliet has long been accused of focusing on the wrong male character, its true tragic death coming in the third act. This production proves no counterexample; riveting up to intermission, and never less than stylish afterward, it starts losing steam once Mercutio’s fatally scratched."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...From the moment the play opens—in the famous altercation scene between members of the feuding Montague and Capulet families, we know we are in for something different. We are on a dark, empty city street, bisected by four wooden barriers with their flashing red warning lights – props that easily break into weapons when the opposing tough guys accelerate from insults to action."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...The setting by Brian Sidney Bembridge is strategically indeterminable, resembling a decaying urban alley with mysterious scaffolding and sliding garage doors to suggest unseen streets and rooms. Ana Kuzmanic’s costumes recall the 1950s, Christian Dior for the Verona doyenne, and for the men, a touch of the Sharks and Jets. But the 160-minute action is all the Bard’s powerful doing, as Romeo and Juliet seem caught up in their own faster time zone, all but eating up the years they’ll never have as they pursue forbidden love in the teeth of their ignorant, feuding elders."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Productions at CST are always solid with every little detail taken care of- the lighting (John Culbert), the costumes ( Ana Kuzmanic) and the original music and sound ( Lindsay Jones) are the icing on a cake that is perfect. If you have never witnessed a Shakespeare production on Navy Pier, make this a “to do” on your ” bucket list”. You won’t be sorry! Since most of you know “West Side Story” you will see where some of it came from and feel as if you have seen this before.Do not let the language bother you, as it is really not that difficult to “get it”!. Just think about what happens when you walk into a dark room, after awhile your eyes adjust andyou can see what is around you, so when it comes to Shakespeare, just watch the actors and what they are doing and just like that, you will “see the words” and have a glorious experience at the theater."
Chicago Theater Beat
- Highly Recommended
"...The production doesn’t shy away from the erotic, instead relishing in Shakespeare’s bawdy puns, particularly the overtly sexual Mercutio (Ariel Shafir). Shafir fearlessly tackles the plethora of double entendres he is handed, often going to grotesque extremes that are hilarious but inappropriate for print. These lead to some especially humorous moments when he encounters the Nurse (Ora Jones), who is completely unprepared for the barrage of insults he hurls her way, with most of them of a decidedly erotic nature. Jones’ brilliant portrayal of the Nurse is one of the play’s highlights, showing the motherly affection that Lady Capulet (Judy Blue) lacks while still being a safe, friendly presence in Juliet’s life. Whether teasing, comforting, or advising, it is easy to see why the Nurse is Juliet’s closest confidant, and Jones’ exaggerated mannerisms (and one completely over-the-top dress) make her a comedic goldmine throughout the production."
