Review/Reflection #1: CTG's Romeo + Juliet
Star-Crossed Bummers?
On Sunday, January 28, 2024 I arrived at the Music Center Complex for Center Theatre Group's production of Mathew Bourne’s Romeo + Juliet. I received a free ticket from CTG’s Education and Community Partnerships department and found free parking on North Figueroa St. and I walked up the street toward the Ahmanson Theatre.
I was particularly interested in this production for two reasons:
I just experienced my first ballet last month as a spotlight operator for the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse and the Pasadena Dance Theatre production of the Nutcracker. I never seen that shit before, and was blown away by the strength and commitment of all the dancers and their families, who were there to support them. I also really enjoyed the music and finally heard all of Tchaikovsky’s jams in the right context and order and I was like “oh shit, I know that song”. So I thought this ballet version of Romeo and Juliet was going to be dope like that.
The second reason why I was interested in this production is because Sunday Night’s performance was Dance Community Night. [Full Disclosure: I recently completed my second interview with CTG for their Audience Development and Marketing Events Senior Manager position, and wanted to scope out this event to get a better sense of what this job entailed1.]
My seat sucked ass. Door 31 seat G1. I was all the way on top and in the damn corner.
The House lights dim:
[Also there was a bright green neon EXIT sign shining in my goddamn face the whole night, but at least that stupid sign allowed me to write down my notes during the performance.]
A beautiful chiffon curtain drops, and the performance starts with a bloody Romeo and Juliet on an examination table inside of a psychiatric institution, that was giving One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest vibes. And I was like “okay, that’s how we are starting, lets go!” Lez Brotherston’s Set design was spectacular, and every inch of the stage was utilized from the chain link fence that looked like it went up to the rafters, to the iron ladder bolted into the white tile where dancers climbed up to reach the “balcony”.
The lighting by Paule Constable was also captivating, as an army of dancers entered and exited the stage through out the performance. And the shadows that the dancers’ bodies projected created another dimension of dopeness. Also each transition was clear and accentuated by the lighting and I found myself really enjoying and rooting for more transitions.
But where the performance started to lose me was in the dynamic of the Guard, who’s supposed to represent the character of Tybalt, and Juliet. This choice was strange to me. Why this world where a male guard sexually assaults a female patient? I guess it was to set up the end, where they “stand up” to the guard even though he has a gun, and eventually kill him as revenge for the Mercutio character’s death. Then this sets up Juliet’s trauma dream flashback where in a bout of psychosis she pulls out a knife and stabs Romeo thinking it was the guard, then realizing what she’s done, (after a pretty dope bloody duet) stabs herself. And we end at the beginning tableau, where Romeo and Juliet lay bloody and motionless on the examination table.
I don’t know, there was just too much jumping and prancing around for me. I know it’s a ballet, and perhaps I don’t have the technical knowledge to fully appreciate the moves the dancers were doing, but I was like: since when is ass slapping a ballet move? It felt like at times these types of moves were for cheap laughs.
Then I started thinking that this shit is one big o’l pantomime act of Romeo and Juliet.
Then I started wondering if my bias is showing, and if I am being a hypocrite, because I’m all down for a Susuki Method type of performance, but why not this ballet version of Romeo and Juliet?
Don’t get me wrong there were some dope moves and some really beautiful moments. For example, that “longest kiss in dance history” moment was no joke. Romeo and Juliet were conjoined at the lips and moved around the stage together in a marvelous display of grace and athleticism. And during the slower moments of their duets, the expressed their love for one another in a convincingly authentic way.
But the whole time I was sitting in that wack ass seat, I kept wondering:
Why this story now?
With all the shit that is going on in the world, why a ballet version of Romeo and Juliet?
Why here in Los Angeles?
Who wanted or asked for a UK company to come here and present this? (No shade to the UK) But who is this for really?
Why did my seat suck so bad?
What is the point of a 2,000 seat theatre and large touring productions, if theatre companies are unable to recover from the pandemic?
I don’t know bro… overall, it was alright I guess, like definitely props to all the performers, designers, crew, and administration who make this stuff happen, but I left the theatre that night a little empty.
Would love to know what you all think if you get a chance to catch this production, and would also love your feedback on this type of review/reflection and if that long foot note is interesting and entertaining to you all.
So after I walked up the street to the Ahmanson and climbed up the stairs, I saw all these fancy ass people eating dinner at the Abernethy’s restaurant right there on the Music Center Complex, and kept hearing my partner’s voice talking shit to me in the back of my head: “You’re wearing a beanie? You can’t wear a beanie to the theatre”.
I walk past the water shooting out of the ground, where teenagers dared one another to run through it, toward the Dorthy Chandler Pavillion. I stared at the three huge chandeliers through the massive windows, and was snapped out of the grandiose stupor I found myself slipping in, when I noticed a homeless person chilling by the “Dance Door” public art piece.
I turned my ass around and headed to the wine bar to ask the woman behind the counter if she knew where I could grab a cup of coffee. She told me there is a bar in front of the Ahmason, and I headed straight there.
It’s 6:15ish and the performance doesn’t start till 8pm so it’s pretty chill all around and the workers are still setting up. I say what's up to the bartender and he charges me $6 for a $2.65 Starbucks Pike coffee. I post up on a cement bench, where I can observe the lobby and box office. I sit and sip and wait, and after a few minutes, I see someone bring a table out and begin setting up for what I assumed was the Dance Community Night check in.
I get up to walk past the table as nonchalant as I can and go to ask the box office if my ticket is good for the community dance night event, knowing damn well that this was a free ticket, and not a paid $30 ticket for the event that offered a complimentary drink and the chance to mingle with others in the dance community. To my surprise, even though I kinda knew marketing folks would be there, I saw that the person setting up the table was in fact a woman that interviewed me for the marketing position.
I panicked. I was nervous that I might look like a desperate stalker showing up to this event to get a job, so I called my partner, and she gave me a pep talk: “finish that overpriced coffee, pop some Altoids in your mouth, and go introduce yourself and say your are here to get a better sense of the responsibilities for this position.”
With the mindset of going in as if this was an informational interview scenario, where I was genuinely curious about how everything worked and whether or not this was the right job for me, I finished my overpriced coffee, popped some Altoids in my mouth, and walked my ass over to the check in table.
“Are you here for Dance Community Night”
“Yes, and no.” My name is Aaron Higareda, and I recently interviewed for the Senior Manager Audience Development and Marketing Events position, and I just wanted to check out—
“Oh yea, I thought you looked familiar, here’s a complimentary drink ticket. Go on in”
“Thank you?”
I couldn’t believe it. I got a free ticket, found free parking, and now I could get a free drink. I walked up more stairs to the second floor where the event was being hosted. I was surprised by the modest size of the folks that were gathered around. I awkwardly made eye contact with another member of the marketing team who also interviewed me, but she happened to be a UCR alum, and took me under her wing to introduce me to other members of the department. I try to smile and laugh and ask questions about who put this all together, but the whole time I kept thinking that maybe my partner was right, I shouldn’t’ve worn this damn beanie because now I’m sweaty and probably look all greasy and gross.
The event, although smaller than I expected, was actually pretty cool. There were ice breaker bingo cards that got folks talking to one another. The prize for completing the bingo was a chance to win opening night tickets to the three remaining Ahmanson shows, which some people took very seriously. I cashed in my complimentary ticket for a glass of Pinot Noir and moseyed around the tables where the bingo cards were. I met a nice old lady, who was “someone wearing red”; “someone who had a watch on”, and “someone who took out their phone to show you their last picture”. I was “someone who followed CTG’s Instagram” and “someone who grew up in Los Angeles”. I was not “someone who knew tap dance” nor was “I someone who spoke two languages”.
The event continued with more dance community folks showing up until Sir Matthew Bourne and CTG’s CEO Meghan Pressman entered and gathered folks to huddle up. Here are some of the highlights he mentioned when he addressed the crowd:
“Dance is Theatre as far as I am concerned”
“Romeo and Juliet is a bit overdone” [and he wanted to approach it from within] “it has it’s own story to tell, and it was four years in the making”
He wanted to capture “young love, lusty love”
And “Be on the lookout for the longest kiss in dance history”
Here is a link to a video of Sir Matthew Bourne and the UK cast talking more about the process:
Great read, both the review and the footnote! I had heard mixed responses to the production.