Two Families, Two Languages, APT's "Romeo and Juliet" Means Even More

William Shakespeare’s classic tale of romance and tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, has fascinated audiences for more than four centuries. It has also inspired artists to translate the story into new media, from paintings, novels and poetry to films, ballets, operas, musicals, symphonies and even manga. This summer at American Players Theatre, the iconic play about young lovers from two feuding families, is presented in two languages — spoken English and American Sign. Directed with extraordinary vision by John Langs and featuring noted Deaf actor Joshua Castille as Romeo, it is an exquisitely beautiful production that awakens the well known text, making it feel fresh, vital and deeply poignant.

Similar to Deaf West’s Broadway production of the musical Spring Awakening, adding Deaf characters into the mostly hearing world of the play deepens the divide between the two groups, highlighting gaps in communication and amplifying the tragedy. There are already so many moments in Romeo and Juliet where messages are misplaced and characters refuse to hear arguments from others; making the language barriers visual reinforces that theme.

While inserting some American Sign Language (ASL) into the world’s best known love story could feel gimmicky, under Langs’ direction (and in the hands of this cast) it is anything but. Instead it is another layer of storytelling that is executed with as much precision and care as APT normally takes with the language of its classic texts. The entire production is richer, more powerful, more emotion-packed as a result.

Castille is superb as Romeo — his whole body is engulfed with the tragic lover’s changeable passions. With a fresh, youthful face that’s as open as a blank page and his graceful, precise signing, he does the seemingly impossible — Castille makes the text’s poetry even more beautiful. Instead of giving the character one spoken voice, this production puts several actors in the aisles to speak Romeo’s lines as they are being signed. Older and younger, male and female actors take turns voicing his part, underlining his words instead of interpreting them. The effect is magical.

Isabelle Bushue matches Castille’s energy as Juliet, elegantly making the heroine’s lines her own, even though they are some of the most familiar sentences in dramatic literature. The actress also brings a carefree, even silly youthfulness to the role that embraces Juliet’s naivete. With that innocence is real joy, most clearly on display in a gorgeous moment that marks the end of the first half of the performance. Bushue’s initial exuberance as Juliet makes her quieter romantic moments and her final desperation stand out even more.

The lovers’ connection is strengthened as Juliet learns a few phrases of sign language in a scene that is inspired by an English lesson for the French Princess Katherine in Shakespeare’s Henry V. While the addition initially feels shoehorned in, the end result is charming. And the final scene of the play, where Romeo and Juliet speak each other’s language, is stunning.

There is so much electricity between the two romantic leads it would be easy to overlook the outstanding performances of the supporting cast. Fortunately, instead of competing with the lovers, they elevate every scene around them. Colleen Madden’s Nurse, for example, is breezy and witty as she revels in her memories of caring for her charge, even surprising Juliet with a dazzling new dress before the masked ball, a la West Side Story. And Jim DeVita and Sun Mee Chomet bring welcome complexity to the relationship of the Capulets, both as a married couple and parents to their teen daughter.

As hotheaded adversaries Tybalt and Mercutio, both Rasell Holt and Daniel José Molina exude bravado in their every move. Drunk on their own machismo, they lean into the fight that dooms them both. As Romeo’s bawdy friend and eager accomplice in rabble-rousing, Molina’s Mercutio is truly larger-than-life, assailing his Queen Mab speech with gusto and infusing the play’s truest line with heartbreak and pathos; “A plague on both your houses.”

Deaf actor Robert Schleifer plays the learned Friar Lawrence, whose plans to reunite the young lovers after Romeo is banished go horribly awry. His powerful signing emphasizes his frustration in trying and failing to prevent the eventual tragedy. And finally, Nathan Barlow is a revelation as Benvolio. Sensitive and anxious about his friend Romeo’s plight, he acts as a bridge between the hearing and deaf worlds, signing and speaking throughout.

The elaborate scenic design by Shaun Motley is at once unabashedly romantic and starkly literal. Curved wooden arches are festooned with delicate pink roses and greenery, as is Juliet’s balcony. But at the same time, multiple gold gate panels are almost always in motion, providing real obstacles for the lovers and barriers that separate the two families. The entire cast works together seamlessly to move the wheeled gates into dozens of formations that either keep characters fenced in or keep them apart. Several actors also scale the gates to get to the other side, resting on top while balancing high above the stage — it’s a thrilling way to dramatize the stakes for the young people who are willing to boldly transgress.

And kudos go to movement director Jeb Burris, who choreographs breathtaking sword battles that accelerate in pace and difficulty level as the Montagues and Capulets repeatedly square off. Working with — and through — the gate panels in many different configurations, the clashes are visceral and almost cinematic.

The one sour note in this delightful production is the costume design by Daniele Tyler Mathews. A haphazard mix of colors, fabrics, styles and silhouettes, the characters onstage often look like they are in different plays. By unmooring the production’s look from one specific time period, the overall design should make the story feel more universal, but in the end the collection of disparate parts feels messy and random.

With this production of Romeo and Juliet, APT has taken a bold step toward fulfilling its goals for inclusion and diversity while also enhancing their artistry. The audience will reap the rewards of this beautiful collaboration — in the Hill Theatre through October 7.

(Waves hands in the air, twisting at the wrists to sign applause in ASL.)

Post Script

Two Families, Two Languages, APT's "Romeo and Juliet" Means Even More