Review: Curio Theatre Company's "Romeo and Juliet"

Every theatre season brings with it new interpretations of Shakespeare’s timeless plays. Curio Theater Company got a head start on this year’s selections from the Bard with their season opener, Romeo and Juliet, casting two women as the star-crossed lovers. I caught the October 12^th performance, the cast’s second official performance of their month-long run.

Director Krista Apple-Hodge changes little of the original text in this particular adaptation. Pronouns are changed to reflect the fact that Romeo and Tybalt are now women and much of Lord Capulet’s dialogue is given to Aetna Gallagher’s Lady Capulet. Curio’s dedication to keeping the original text in tact doesn’t always work for this particular production. It’s set in this not-quite-modern world where women lead their family’s violent gangs and no one questions or criticizes Romeo and Juliet’s same-sex marriage. The premise of the production requires the audience to take a pretty big leap of faith, and left me with a great deal of questions. It seems as though the production sought out to deal with issues of gender and sexuality that the original text was not cut out to address.

Despite the production’s shaky foundation, the performances are fantastic. Rachel Gluck and Isa St. Clair have great chemistry as Romeo and Juliet respectively. Eric Scotolati is particularly exceptional as the witty and wild Mercutio. The entire cast brings a youthful energy to the show often missing in Philadelphia theatre. They all work so well together, achieving Curio’s goal of creating great ensemble theatre.

Curio is housed in a turn-of-the-century American Protestant church in West Philadelphia, with beautiful stained-glass windows and high ceilings. It’s the perfect setting for this play, making the scenes in the church and tomb even more powerful.   The building, however, wasn’t quite built for theatre, and the acoustics of the space are a little wonky. The choices of music are often questionable, particularly when they try to mix Eric Whitacre’s haunting choral piece “Lux Aurumque” with house beats. The lighting and costumes are pretty basic, just doing what they need to do to tell the story.

Despite it’s faults, Curio’s Romeo and Juliet makes for a fun night at the theatre. It’s an interesting take on the story we all know so well, which is refreshing in a culture obsessed with this particular play. These young theatre artists have a lot to offer the Philadelphia theatre scene. If this production is any indication of their talents, I’m looking forward to what the folks at Curio will come up with next.

Romeo and Juliet runs through November 2nd at Curio Theatre Company, 4740 Baltimore Ave. Tickets are $20 with a valid student ID. For more information, visit curiotheatre.org. 

Everybody's Rushin': How to Get Student Rush Tickets

Being able to take advantage of student rush tickets is one of the best perks of being a student in my opinion. My university ID has afforded me some of the best discounts on theatre tickets out there, and has allowed me to see productions that I might not have seen otherwise. In my quest to find the best student rush offers in the theatre world, I’ve found that there is an art to “rushing” a show, one that I would’ve liked to know more about before I rushed my first show. So, dear reader, I present you with the three essential steps to acquiring student rush tickets.  

Step 1: Do your research ahead of time.

Visit the show or theatre’s website and find out when the box office opens and if they offer student rush tickets at all. Generally speaking, you’ll need to purchase the tickets in person, so figure out how to get to the box office. If the box office only accepts cash for student rush tickets, be sure to pay a visit to the ATM. Call the theatre if you have any questions that can’t be answered through the information on the website. And of course, don’t forget your ID!

Step 2: Arrive early.

Photo Credit: Elvert Barnes

The definition of “early” may depend on the show you’re seeing. For smaller theatres, arriving at the box office fifteen minutes before it opens is usually sufficient. For Broadway shows or bigger productions, plan to get there three or more hours before if you want to be guaranteed a ticket. Bring a book or something to do while you wait, and don’t be afraid to talk to the people in line. Lots of people have met good friends waiting in line for rush tickets to their favorite shows.

And finally…

Step 3: Be flexible. 

I say this because it is entirely possible that you will wait for tickets for a while only to have the box office announce that the show is sold out when you are the next person in line. It is also entirely possible that the show will be sold out before you even get to the theatre. Try not to be disappointed if your original plan doesn’t work out, and have a back-up plan for the evening. There may be a fair amount of planning involved in rushing, but it is a process based on spontaneity and chance. And, to be honest, that’s what makes it so exciting.

Do you have any stories from the student rush line, or any tips for future rushers? Post them in the comments!

Know the (Nonexistent) Code: Is It Necessary to Dress Up for the Theatre?

As theatre has changed over the years, our ideas of what constitutes proper theatre etiquette have changed as well. What happens when someone's phone goes off in the middle of a play? Is it okay to sing along in your seat at jukebox musicals like Jersey Boys? And what the heck are you supposed to wear to the theatre?

This last question has been a hotly contested issue in the theatre community in the last few years. As audiences for commercial theatre are widening, their sartorial choices are becoming increasingly more casual. Despite this, there is still some unspoken expectation for audience members to dress up for a theatrical production, particularly at the professional level. This expectation can scare off young people who might be uncomfortable dressing up for a night at the theatre.

I asked some of my Twitter followers how they felt about dressing up for the theatre, and their responses were surprisingly split. Some enjoyed the process of dressing up as part of the general experience of going to the theatre, while others found that the expectation to dress up, “makes the theatre seem too exclusive.” One friend described her personal theatre fashion rules as, “Office-appropriate clothing a necessity; dressy clothing for openings, post-show receptions, and Lincoln Center/the Met.” Another said, “Although there isn’t an OFFICIAL dress code, I hate this sort of social requirement because it does keep certain people away from the theatre or at least makes them very uncomfortable or feel out of place when they are.”

So, what do I think about dressing for the theatre? I think that theatre patrons should be able to wear whatever they want to the theatre, within reason. Personally, I go for a smart-casual look when I’m going to a show. I’ll throw on a dress and a cardigan or a nice blouse and a pair of black pants. I do think that making an effort to look presentable shows respect to the cast and creative team behind a play.

However, the most important aspect to dressing for the theatre is comfort. In the end, you’re going to sit in a theatre for several hours, so while you still want to look presentable, you should wear something that makes you physically and emotionally comfortable. Your sartorial choices shouldn’t detract from your overall experience at the theatre.

How do you dress for the theatre? Do you expect the audience to dress up for a performance, or do you think we should be allowed to wear whatever we want? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

A Summer on the Fringe

For us theatre lovers, summer means blasting the original Broadway cast recording of our favorite musicals while driving down to the beach (or lake or other body of water), attending the final performance of every theatre camp in town, and heading to the fringe festival in our nearest city.

Now, you may be asking, what the heck is a fringe festival? By Wikipedia’s definition, fringe theatre is “theatre that is not of the mainstream”. The term can be used to describe smaller theatres that stage more experimental productions, but generally, it refers to the unjuried festivals that accept productions on a first come, first serve basis until all of the available performance spaces are full. The programming of these festivals usually isn’t limited to theatre. All kinds of performance art, from cabaret to spoken word poetry, are welcome at fringe festivals.

What makes the fringe festivals so attractive to young audiences is that tickets to festival productions are inexpensive and occasionally free!

The term “fringe” was first coined in Edinburgh, Scotland at the 1947 Edinburgh International Festival, when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited and staged their own productions outside of the festival, or “on the fringe”. Since then, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has become the largest and most exciting of its kind. This festival features performance art of all kinds, though in recent years it has been known to attract big names in comedy such as Ricky Gervais and Tim Minchin. Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, one of the most highly acclaimed plays of the twentieth century saw its first full performance at the 1966 Festival Fringe. This year’s festival runs through August 27.

A more recent addition to the fringe festival scene is the Chicago Fringe Festival, founded in 2010. Featuring about 50 performance groups each year, the CFF, “unites daring theatergoers with emerging and boundary-pushing artists from around the world.” This festival provides a win-win situation for both the artists and the audience; tickets are only $10 and 100% of the proceeds go to the artists. Though it is a younger venture, the Chicago Fringe Festival is definitely one to check out. This year’s festival runs from August 30 to September 9.

The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe bring cutting edge art to the Philadelphia area for two weeks in September. Productions range from dance to film to things that defy categorization altogether. Tickets to many of the productions are inexpensive, and the festival offers great student discounts. This year’s festival will be particularly exciting for me, because I will be performing in MONUMENT, the Drexel Players’ first production in the Philly Fringe. The process of creating this piece has been exciting and we can’t wait to share it with the world. We also have a blog where we are documenting the creative process, which you are all free to check out!

Have you been to a fringe festival? What did you think of it? Comment below with your fringe stories!

Prologue

Welcome, theatre enthusiasts (or soon to be enthusiasts), to Standing Room Only, your hub for theatre news, reviews, and tips!

In this digital age, many believe that live theatre is a dying art. Boy, are they wrong. Nearly every city in America has their own thriving theatre scene, and more young people are studying theatre than ever before.  I'm here to find the best theatre experiences and give my readers the resources they need to enjoy theatre on a budget. I also want young people to feel comfortable in a theatre environment. The theatre isn't just for blue-haired matinee ladies anymore. Young artists are creating exciting, experimental works for theatre-goers like you. I'm here to help you find them.

Photo credit: Alan Cleaver

So, who am I, the almighty voice at the other end of your internet connection? My name is Charlotte, and I'm just your average social-media obsessed college student with a passion for theatre. I'm currently studying Screenwriting & Playwriting at university in between my many internet ventures (all of which you can find on my About page).

If you're so inclined to watch this space for more, you can subscribe via RSS on the left sidebar. I hope you're all as excited about this new project as I am!