The New Jersey Symphony and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey reunite for a moving performance of Romeo & Juliet
The New Jersey Symphony held their first collaboration with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in over a decade to perform a dramatic retelling of Romeo & Juliet in four consecutive performances in Newark and Red Bank. James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media reviewed the Sunday performance at NJPAC.
The immediate burst of cheers and applause from the Prudential Hall audience elicited after Clark Carmichael intoned the prince’s final line of the play, “for never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo,” proved the effectiveness of this unique New Jersey collaboration.
James C. Taylor of NJ Advance Media
» Read the full review from NJ Advance Media
Courtney Smith of NJArts.net also reviewed the performance, attending the first one of the weekend on Thursday afternoon.
Zhang and the musicians took a flexible approach, exploring both the melodramatic Italianate flavors and Prokofiev’s quirky and modernistic sensibilities. Color was used with great decorum in the somber second half, beginning with the death of Tybalt, surrounded by the mourning Capulets, including an emotionally convincing Lady Capulet (Jesmille Darbouze) and Lord Capulet (David Shih).
Courtney Smith of NJArts.net