Shakespeare meets Lil Abner

I didn’t want to go, I said I was going to boycott it in fact, but my husband got tickets anyway and tonight he and I went to see the drama/music departments’ joint production of The BaIIad of R0me0 and JuIiet, a retelling of Shakespeare’s immortal tale set in the Ozarks (or somewhere like that). It was not as bad as I’d feared, but if we had not been sitting in the very front row, within spitting distance of the cast, I would have had my head in my hands more than I did (I refrained, actually, in deference to the actors).

I had been warned there would be some out-of-tune singing, and there was plenty of that. I already knew that the tunes composed especially for the show by the prof who adapted the play and directed it were going to be pretty sappy and pop-sounding, and they were. But I was surprised by how well our students can act, and some of them can actually sing pretty darn well, too. The musical director (Herr Doktor Professor hiimself) played the part of Juliet’s father, having grown a beard especially for the occasion, and he was pretty good for a philosophy professor turned choir director. He also, along with his sidekick pianist, did all the arrangements, which were pretty good. The band (keyboards, fiddle and various strummed and plucked stringed instruments) was quite excellent. I admit, I almost cried at the end.

The problem with this particular play, though, is that you know from the very beginning that it’s going to end badly. I remember seeing Titanic and getting choked up right in the opening credits because I already knew how it turned out. Still, I’m glad I went. It was a pleasant diversion.

Tomorrow begins the marathon to correct the score and extract parts. This is the part I detest. Wish me luck.

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