Daringly reconceived, thrillingly choreographed, and dazzlingly performed, the North American Premiere of Matthew Bourne’s Romeo And Juliet is the latest absolute must-see from the UK-based dance company that has made the Ahmanson Theatre its American home away from home for the past twenty-six years.

The music is Sergei Prokofiev’s (adapted from the ballet’s 1938 World Premiere by orchestrator Terry Davies), but that’s about all that’s traditional in Bourne’s boldly revised take on Shakespeare’s centuries-old tale of star-crossed lovers.

Gone from Shakespeare’s original are the two warring families who set the tragic love story in motion, and Tybalt is no longer Juliet’s cousin but one of the guards keeping watch over Verona Institute mental patients (among them Juliet, Mercutio, and Benvolio) as they alternate between undergoing daily therapy sessions and taking their meds.

Unfortunately for the institute’s female residents, Tybalt’s unofficial “duties” also include sexual harassment and rape, and his latest victim is none other than a devastatingly traumatized Juliet.

Enter Romeo, whose parents (the powerful Senator Montague and his icy wife Brie) have brought their oddly behaving son to the Verona Institute in hopes of a “cure” for whatever it is they consider ails him.

A party organized by institute chaplain Bernadette Laurence gives the soon-to-be young lovers their first glimpse of each other and their first dance, and before long the handsome Romeo and the beauteous Juliet are head over heels in love.

(So are Mercutio and Balthazar, by the way.)

And though both the reasons for and means of their demises have been altered from the Shakespeare original, two of the abovementioned characters do indeed lie dead when Act One ends with a bloody bang.

As Prokofiev’s prerecorded score fills the Ahmanson with the same blend of classical magnificence and modern innovation that first thrilled Kirov ballet audiences while war raged throughout Europe, Bourne’s New Adventures Company members execute the master director-choreographer’s instantly recognizable quirky-jerky dance moves to stunning perfection, not only giving fresh life to Prokofiev’s three-quarters-century-old melodies but making this Romeo & Juliet a virtual Play Without Words (not coincidentally the title of a 2005 Bourne-at-the-Ahmanson hit), dance moves taking the place of dialog every step and pas de deux of the way.

As in Bourne ballets past, principal and featured roles are shared by two, three, or four different cast members who may appear in one role one night, a different role the next night, and then take an evening or matinee off.

Opening night audiences were treated to the captivating star turns of Paris Fitzpatrick and Monique Jonas as Romeo and Juliet, a menacing Adam Galbraith as Tybalt, Cameron Flynn and Jackson Fisch igniting potent same-sex romantic sparks as Mercutio and Balthazar (Fisch’s Act Two solo is a bona fide stunner), and the equally gifted Euan Garrett as the duo’s bestie Benvolio.

Longtime Bourne aficionados will be excited to see Alan Vincent (the star of 1997’s Swan Lake and 2001’s The Car Man) return in a trio of “mature” roles (including Senator Montague) opposite fellow New Adventures vet Daisy May Kemp as Rev. Lawrence (among others), and what an illustrious return to L.A. this is.

Last but not least, Anya Ferdinand (Frenchie) and Bryony Pennington (Dorcas) along with ensemble dancers Matthew Amos, Adam Davies, Tanisha Endicott, Kurumi Kamayachi, Hanna Kremer, Kate Lyons, Blue Makwana, Leonardo McCorkindale, and Eve Ngbokota (at the performance reviewed) are downright spectacular as they execute choreography that frequently has everyone on stage doing their own individualized moves to such eye-catching effect that you could see each production number again and again and discover something new every time.

Lez Brotherston’s deliberately stark mental hospital set and the all-white “uniforms” worn by Verona Institute residents make their later party wear look all the more festive, particularly as lit with vibrancy and flair by Paule Constable, and as he did a few years back with Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, sound designer Paul Groothuis once again fills the Ahmanson with Prokofiev’s soaring, pulsating melodies.

Company members Tasha Chu, Louis Harris, Dylan Jones, Rory Macleod, Eleanor Mcgrath, Harry Ondrak-Wright, and Lyra Treglown had opening night off.

Etta Murfitt is associate artistic director. Arielle Smith is associate choreographer. Neil Westmoreland is resident artistic associate. Vincent is resident director and Kemp is assistant resident director.

Duncan Parker is stage manager. Rebecca Harris is assistant stage manager.

I first discovered Matthew Bourne (along with tens of thousands of other Los Angeles theatergoers) when Swan Lake debuted at the Ahmanson in 1997, and with one possible exception, I’ve seen every single new New Adventures Company production since then.

Judging from last night’s Opening Night audience’s exuberant reaction to Matthew Bourne’s latest spectacular creation, it’s a sure bet this won’t be the Center Theatre Group’s last thrilling New Adventure in dance.

Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N Grand Ave, Los Angeles.
www.CenterTheatreGroup.org

–Steven Stanley
January 31, 2024
Photos: Johan Persson

Tags: Ahmanson Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Theater Review, Matthew Bourne, Sergei Prokofiev