wherefore art thou...

"Am I dreaming? Did Savannah have some Shakespeare going on??"

Indeed it did, and almost like a dream it was.

"I don't recognize this venue at all."

It's the East Courtyard Playhouse at SavArtsAcademy. This may have been their first time using it. It's definitely a more intimate setting, as it's a small, enclosed garden.

"No need to build an elaborate balcony, either, for the fair maiden to be atop of when her lover boy came calling."

That's right. So you've guessed that the play was "Romeo And Juliet", I see.

"You fairly well said as much with the post title."

So I did! And I'd had to rush right over before my brothers and others were quite done. You know, at the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta! So good to be with them again! It had been several weeks since I was last at Jalapenos of Sandfly with family. Good to get all those hugs!

"Yes, dear. But how was the play? Did it scratch that itch for the Bard of Avon?"

Yes, most def! I honestly think the setting contributed greatly. It just had - I don't know, the feel I would have expected from five hundred years ago - and that outside staircase got a lot of action from Juliet, her mom, her dad, and her nurse. Oh, speaking of the nurse, she was also in "Sweeney Todd", as part of the ensemble, and I sat next to her mom at that one. Her name is Jada Banks and it was wonderful to see her in a meaty role!

"That's for sure, she really is talented. Now, what about the play?"

The play's the thing, isn't it? LOL! Seems like that's a line in another of Shakespeare's works.

(Tapping foot and getting agitated now...)

Oh, alright, I know I've been a little derailed! The play was wonderful, as such things are with a high school cast, with their energy bubbling over all around! They were a talented bunch, too, even with the microphones trying to cut out on them and the helicopters and air traffic from Hunter AAF providing sound disruptions. However, there was one who was phenomenal, and that was the one playing the 14-year-old, love-struck, Juliet. No, not the actress originally in the role; she had an accident during tech rehearsal and could no longer manage the trips on the stairs.

"Oh, no!!! What a tragedy for that romantic tragedy!"

True. But not so for this troupe. The stage manager, Liv Dugas, stepped up - just a little pun for you! (smile!) Seriously, though, she took on the role, though she held a script at all times as Juliet speaks so often in the play, as you know. But here's the thing: even though Liv was often reading her lines, she did so with all the needed emotion, in exactly the right way, every time and all through the night. Just incredibly talented!!!

"Wow! That sounds fabulous!"

It was, it truly was. It was so beautifully timed, too. All the happier moments in the first two scenes were during daylight. By the time scene three was done, with Romeo banished and Juliet lovesick, the courtyard was darkened. I took this second photo at the end of Act 1, with the upper area of the space only lit by stage lights. What a great effect!

"That was excellent timing! That meant all the sadness in Act 2 had the darkness above lending credence to that gloom and doom."

Definitely. Oh, and there was music! No singing, mind you, as this was not a musical. But during the ball, we were treated to "Stupid Cupid" and "Rock Around The Clock". Then "Earth Angel" played while Romeo was wooing Juliet. Very cool! And the song that played as the cast took its bows? Taylor Swift's "Love Story", naturally. I was so glad I was able to be there! Most fortuitous!!!