Excess threatens Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's outdoor 'Romeo & Juliet'

"That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet," Juliet famously proclaims in William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet."

There's plenty of sweetness to savor in Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's new production of one of The Bard's most famous plays.

But the long-running Oklahoma City theater's final outdoor production of its 2023 season nearly ends up a cloying mess due to too much gilding the lily and adding perfume to violets, to paraphrase "King John."

"Romeo & Juliet" runs through Sept. 24 in The Shakespeare Gardens, Oklahoma Shakespeare's outdoor venue in the Paseo Arts District.

'Romeo & Juliet' stars generate chemistry for their whirlwind romance

Oklahoma Shakespeare is cleverly following its enchanting August production of “Shakespeare in Love,” a fact-meets-fiction tale about the creation of "Romeo & Juliet," with The Bard's iconic tale of feuding families and star-crossed lovers.

Arguably the most famous love story in the world, "Romeo & Juliet" was the last show Oklahoma Shakespeare performed before the spring 2020 COVID outbreak forced the professional theater to shut down and cancel the rest of its season.

Performed on the company's two-year-old outdoor stage, the new production is more epic than the intimate February 2020 staging inside the company's Paseo black-box theater.

The action-packed sword fights choreographed by Executive Producer Tyler Woods, the dramatic staging of the legendary balcony scene on the recently expanded two-story outdoor stage and the cast's entertaining penchant for mingling with the audience assembled on the grassy lawn make the storytelling feel immersive.

The Italian Renaissance-style costumes devised by designer Lloyd Cracknell also help transport viewers to "fair Verona, where we lay our scene."

Director Alissa Branch has assembled an stalwart cast of mostly local performers, led by Jose Antonio Otero, who is making his Oklahoma Shakespeare debut in the role of Romeo, the heir of the Montague family, and Bell Reeves, who takes on the role of Juliet, the scion of the rival Capulet clan, after playing Hero in Oklahoma Shakespeare's June production of "Much Ado About Nothing."

The whole show hinges on believing that these two characters fall instantly in love so passionately that they're willing to overlook the "ancient grudge" between their families, get married in secret literally overnight and kill themselves if they can't be together.

Fortunately, Otero and Reeves not only generate more than enough chemistry to make their whirlwind romance believable, but they also bring a palpable giddiness to their young love. Their almost silly happiness when they're together makes it practically impossible not to root for the couple, even knowing it's in vain.

Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park adds a new character and live music to 'Romeo & Juliet'

It's always interesting to see how a director, cast and crew approach a familiar classic that is performed as frequently as "Romeo & Juliet."

Branch opts to stay faithful to Shakespeare's legendary language, which is truly glorious in this show, even as the story keeps coming back to the fact that Juliet is just 13 years old when she secretly weds Romeo at the same time her parents are determined to marry her off to Count Paris (Karam Alkhatib).

The production is cannily streamlined by eliminating some minor characters and extraneous scenes, and Branch makes some interesting casting decisions. Lindsey Rollins' charismatic stage presence and commanding voice make her a great choice to play the prince who is increasingly impatient with the disruptive feud between the Montagues and Capulets. Karis McMurry shows her range as Benvolio, Romeo's cousin and best friend, another role traditionally played by a male actor.

But the most intriguing alteration to the classic play is the addition of original live music, composed and performed by Nate Borofsky, who appears in the show as a new character called The Travelling Player.

A member of the folk-pop band Girlyman, Borofsky boasts an appealing voice and solid songwriting skills. He gets the play off to a tuneful start by strumming his guitar and crooning the play's famed opening lines, and his some of his songs, especially his ballad about Tybalt (Kamron McClure), the "king of cats" and resident Capulet hothead, are entertaining additions.

As The Bard cautions, though, too much gilt on a lily or perfume on a violet is just too much. The production just keeps coming back to Borofsky, leaving me wishing that The Travelling Player would move on to another show.

Some of his songs seem designed to add more drama to a show that already borders on dramatic excess, and the musical numbers eventually start to feel repetitive and bog down the storytelling, especially in the second act.

Shakespeare wisely has "Romeo & Juliet" play out over a course of just a few days, with emotions running so high that cooler heads have no chance to prevent the tragic ending. While live music can heighten emotion, too much in this case only overpowers the emotional momentum of the storytelling and performances.

What's next for Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park?

With performances through Sept. 24, "Romeo & Juliet" is the last outdoor show of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's 39th season.

The venerable company will move inside to its recently renovated black-box theater on the Paseo for the Nov. 9-19 run of Liz Duffy Adams' hot new play "Born with Teeth."

Oklahoma Shakespeare will close its 2023 season with its interactive holiday favorite "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" Dec. 7-23 inside its Paseo theater. 

'ROMEO & JULIET'

• When: Through Sept. 24.

• Where: The Shakespeare Gardens, 2920 Paseo.

• Tickets: www.okshakes.org.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC theater takes 'Romeo & Juliet' outdoors with fall production