Romeo and Juliet

The play and actors were great. The musical selection left some to be desired at times, but otherwise was tolerable.

What a great production and an extremely talented cast! The entire performance was amazing. I highly recommend this show. It is by far the best presentation of Romeo and Juliet that I have ever seen. The actors who portrayed both Romeo and Juliet were exceptional!

The play was very well done and very professional for a small town production. We were saddened by the very poor attendance (Sunday afternoon).

A new, fresh approach. Good actors. Fun minor characters. Moved well. Interesting set and costumes. Well done.

I enjoeyed the setting and action. The actors were engaging especially Mercutio who brought the character to life as Shakespear probably intended. Still following the verse was hard to follow, thouigh we understood Mercutio. Enjoyed it, but not enouigh to stay for the second act. Really thought all actors were good. Looking foward to seeing them in other roles. Thanks to the director and cast.

It reminded me of West Side story in the staging and costumes. Very well done and well interpreted. I've been to three plays in this run and I'm impressed with how the cast and crew have used the space and their talents to evoke such different feelings from the different plays. Well done! It's exciting to see Intiman come back so strongly.

It was confused, convoluted, music too loud at times to hear the master's beautiful words, which at times a gift as they were being butchered by some really awful acting.

Go see it now. Alison Narver has done a fantastic job with this production of Romeo and Juliet. The actors have done a great job with what she gave them. They are youthful and really bring out the adolescent heat in this play. You can really see what motivated West Side Story - this is not Sir John Gielgud's play. It is festival seating so get there early to nail down a good seat..

Great time. We got their early to eat food we had with us and enjoy the Jazz band. Plus you have time to enjoy the grounds.

We thought the play was awesome and the actors were great.

The Play was great. It was ver entertaining. The event took place at Ewing caslte in Bloonington Il was the perfect place. The atmophere at this place was great. The actors delievered a timeless story or love and tragedy that kept you on the edge of your seat. I would recommned it to everyone and the price for a ticket was resonable.

Romeo and Juliet was a great event. I love seeing performances at Ewing Manor and again, I was not disappointed.

I hate to admit that my family was quite disappointed with our recent experience at Ewing Manor and the performance of Romeo and Juliet. The modern inserts of pop music were distracting and absolutely unnecessary. It is our opinion that the musical additions completely overshadowed and soured the performance of the actors. Additionally, many of the "secondary" characters, such as the Nurse and Mercutio were plagued with minimized roles--which was extremely unfortunate. Traditionally, the role of the Nurse and Mercutio provide a much needed comical break, and produce many of the most enjoyable scenes of the play. It was sad to see the roles minimized. What we were allowed to enjoy of the Nurse and Mercutio was absolutely wonderful. The last acts of the play were improved, and were much more traditional. My husband and I bring our children (two teenagers--boys ages 14 & 15) to the festival each year, and we all were disappointed with this performance. Our children, who have both read and understand the play, also expressed that the ridiculous insertion of pop music damaged the performance of this play. I feel that the last two productions that we have seen at the festival have not been enjoyable. I am not sure that we will return next year.

Great setting, great acting, scenery was fabulous, etc., etc., etc. Anxious to see the rest of the plays this summer. I've heard they are all equally good! The Manor grounds are so beautiful and it's a great venue for a picnic and wine before the play.

My wife and I arrived at Ewing Manor an hour before Romeo and Juliet was to start. We packed a picnic and a blanket to use on the lawn. The event staff kindly offered us camping chairs, but we decline and used our blanket. After some wine, cheese, crackers, and humus, we heard the staff ringing hand bells and we entered the theater and found our seats. Of course, Romeo and Juliet will be very familiar to many. The cast embraced the comedy of the early stages of the lovers and Shakespeare's humor was on full display. The happy verbal jousting and young bravado was well paced. The eager energy from early on setup the tragic end very well. The principal players were all quite good. Further down the card, Paris and the Prince were also very nice. Some individual lines from the minor parts were a bit wooden, but overall the evening was exactly what we were looking for.

The show ran about 2hrs and 40 minutes and even thought the weather was very hot and steamy, the time seemed to fly by. The quality of the production and the expertise of the actors kept you focused throughout the play and not even thinking about being uncomfortable due to the weather. We thoroughly enjoyed the play and wished we lived closer to be able to enjoy the other plays offered by the Shakespeare Festival. As it was, we had about a 2-1/2 hour drive each way, but still well worth the effort. I can highly recommend this production of Romeo and Juliet.

Wow! We were blown away by the quality of the acting and the staging of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo's performance was especially impressive. It was our first time to the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and as we were leaving my 15-year old said "We've got to come to more of these!" The grounds and buildings are stunning - what a perfect place for a Shakespeare Festival. Sitting in that beautiful amphitheatre and feeling a light breeze as you listened was a magical experience. And the staff and service were exceptional. Well done!

The play was a nice mixture of traditional Shakesphere and modern. Very enjoyable evening!

The only reason I couldn't give it 5 stars was that it didn't have live music and the staging wasn't to exciting. The dancing was definitely 5 stars

Romeo and Juliet was well choreographed and the story told beautifully. The music used was marvelous and expressed thoughtfully with the dancers. The colors used and dance moves were phenomenal, the group did an outstanding job! I will continue to see more ballets by the GR Ballet!

My daughter and I absolutely loved this production of Romeo and Juliet by the Grand Rapids Ballet Co. The theater size was so intimate and personal that we felt as if we were a part of the production itself. Romeo and Juliet was never more romantic and touchingly tragic than in this production!!!! We were so impressed by each of the players/dancers. It was truely a gem. We loved it!!!

It was the first time to the ballet. My 9 year old daughter and I loved it. We will definitely be back.

A very talented cast provided a superb performance. The musical trio was a great addition - the oboe pieces in particular were just magical!! BRAVO!

This was a great play to take my teenagers to since they recently read the story in English class. It reiterated what they read and helped them understand more fully the whole concept. The actors did a great job in their roles and stayed true to character.

Very Good play. Great Seats in the pit....Play had a good modern twist.

The acting was great. The play itself was entertaining with humor mixed in.

As soon as the curtain rose, I knew I was in for something different. Did they have umbrellas in the 16th century? Did they duel with umbrellas? But the variation of dress and other 19th century twists of ROMEO AND JULIET soon became lost in the excellent performance of a fine company of actors. The black actress, Kaliswa Brewster, playing Juliet was fine in the role, but it was a little disconcerting that neither of the actors playing her mother or father was black? Just made me start to wonder if this Juliet was adopted? Nonetheless, Ms. Brewster made the role of the love-struck teenager tender and truthful. Alejandro Rodriguez played Romeo with a beautiful, passionate joy and pathos. It was unfortunate that awkward staging in the final death scene created the only bad moment for this fine actor. Why stage the final and most dramatic scene far stage right while having the dead body of Paris looming distractingly in center stage? The roles of the nurse (Elizabeth Stahlmann) and Mercutio (Sid Solomon) were especially noteworthy, and all the players were generally effective. The most unfortunate part of the evening was caused by some members of the audience. There were people texting, and a cell phone started to ring during the final death scene. There was also some laughter at totally inappropriate moments in the play. This kind of ignorance has become more and more common in recent years especially the cell phone issues. But despite all the plays trials and tribulations, it was an enjoyable evening that I am sure the Bard would have found worthy of his masterpiece. And even the cell phone fools could not spoil the world's greatest love story: "For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."

The supporting was excellent, Mercutio outstanding. Romeo excellent as a lovesick adolsescent. Juliet was too stiff, lacked emotion and appeared more as his older sister. But , most of all the temperature in the theater was frigid and impacted the enjoyment of the performance in a highly negative way.

Very good...more modern times made it not this the same ole story...the humor from the nurse maid and romeo's friends and cousins was great. Romeo had such a sense of humor...more carefree then the original story..thought it was a little long and drug out at times..drinking the potion took forever....overall good... wish the seats in peabody auditorium were more comfortable

Some of the acting was better than others - Romeo was believable and did a fine job, as did his supporting cast, especially Mercutio who is a truly fine actor that commands attention while on stage. Another actor who consistantly drew attention, despite her more minor role was Juliet's Nurse. She was fantastic - her voice carried well, her timing was prefect - and she conveyed the comic relief perfectly - I laughed out loud several times. There were also several actors who dropped the ball, and were obviously not as experienced, bringing over-acting and wooden delivery to the performance. I would recommend this play to a friend, but only if the tickets were less expensive - I thought it was overpriced.