The first word that comes to mind when reflecting on Citrus College’s “Romeo and Juliet” is “impressive,” though not for the reasons I expected when the show first began.
I was lucky enough to be present at the final dress rehearsal for Citrus Performing Arts’ production of “Romeo and Juliet”.
The start of the play had me a bit worried. It quickly became clear that this was not a high-production play. Performed in the Citrus College Little Theatre as a thrust-style black box, where the audience surrounds three sides of the stage, the production is forced to rely heavily on lighting, acting and creative staging choices.
The set is made up of one set of stairs and two benches that are converted into whatever the actors need them to be.
The set itself is obviously extremely minimalistic. The costumes were also in a similar category, but not because they were minimalistic, but because they, in my eyes, were a bit too all over the place.
Rather than fully committing to either a modern or traditional look, they felt somewhere in between. At times, the wardrobe reminded me of something out of “Descendants” mixed with everyday high school clothing. Personally, I think more unified costumes could have helped reinforce the divide between the Montagues and Capulets.
Adding to the adjustment period is Shakespeare’s language itself. Even for audience members familiar with “Romeo and Juliet”, some scenes can be difficult to follow. Early on, I found myself feeling a little disconnected from what was happening on stage. Someone unfamiliar with the story may struggle even more during the opening scenes.
However, everything changed during the party scene.
The lighting, music, costumes and overall energy finally clicked together. It was the first moment where the production fully came alive, and from that point forward, it only seemed to get stronger. With such a limited set, the lighting and music of this scene carries much of the responsibility for creating atmosphere. It does so extremely well by singling out Romeo and Juliet in that moment and, in my eyes, setting the scene for the rest of the play.
The biggest strength of the production is undoubtedly its leads. Romeo and Juliet, played by Gael Monroy-Lozano and Sofia Mathews are exceptionally well cast and carry the show from beginning to end. Lozano, in particular, completely sold me on the character and the play in general. His portrayal of someone hopelessly and unwaveringly in love feels genuine rather than exaggerated. By the second half of the play, I found myself much more invested in the story because of his performance.
Mathews, or Juliet in this case, matches him well, and together they create the emotional core that is able to keep the audience engaged.
Several supporting characters also provide some welcome comic relief. One of Romeo’s friends, Mercutio, played by Jackson Simone, delivers some surprisingly funny moments, including a few jokes that push the boundaries of what some might expect from Shakespeare. While not every joke lands, most add personality to the production without becoming distracting.
Not every aspect of the show works perfectly. The fight scene, despite being one of the most important moments in the play, feels somewhat underwhelming. The supporting characters surrounding Romeo and Juliet are not always given enough time to fully develop, making certain emotional moments hit less hard than they could.
An example of this is Juliet’s mom and dad, played by Amy Griffin and Cole Bayless, both well-cast and good actors, but not given enough time to truly show the role.
Still, as the performance continued, many of my early concerns became less important. The more invested I became in Romeo and Juliet themselves, the less I noticed about the set.
“Romeo and Juliet” does a lot with very little. At the beginning of the play, I will admit I was a bit worried about how long I was going to have to be there, but by the end, I wished I could’ve seen more. I only wish the production cost wasn’t a limiting factor, and they had given a little more time and space to its ending and spent more time developing the relationships between Romeo, Juliet and the supporting cast.
The remaining show times are at 7 p.m. on May 30 and 3 p.m. on May 30 and 31.
Tickets can be purchased at the Haugh’s website and range from $12 to $25. *certain days may be sold out*
