Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The spirited ROMEO & BERNADETTE is a guilty musical pleasure despite a barebones production

• By drediman
• February 4, 2020
• No Comments

Anna Kostakis and Nikita Burshteyn in Amas Musical Theatre’s production of “Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn” by Mark Saltzman at A.R.T./New York Theatres. Photo by Russ Rowland.

This past weekend at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres, I caught Amas Musical Theatre’s Off-Broadway premiere of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn (the piece was originally seen in 2003 at the Paper Mill Playhouse). The musical, with book and lyrics by Mark Saltzman and featuring music from a dozen classic Italian songs, is a comic sequel to Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. The piece imagines the fantastical scenario in which Romeo finds himself in 1960s Brooklyn. In this alien setting, he falls in love with a powerful gangster’s headstrong daughter, whom Romeo takes to be his Juliet re-incarnated.

In style, Romeo & Bernadette calls to mind a mash-up of Grease, Guys & Dolls, and of course, West Side Story – and much of it works. A lot of the recycled score hits the mark, especially as sold by the strong-voiced cast and the show’s small but spirited orchestra. Mr. Saltzman’s book giddily integrates smartly-crafted “highbrow” Shakespearian verse with bawdy, foul-mouthed humor, resulting in a comic romp that tickles through its whiplash contradictions. Justin Ross Cohen’s efficiently directed production is a guilty pleasure. He maintains a snappy pace which allows the madcap plotting to sing, although I wish the production were literally more colorful (the blandly suggestive barebones physical production by veteran set designer Walt Spangler just barely gets the job done).

That being said, the well-credentialed cast contributes the sufficient color by delightfully hamming up their performances. There are a number of very strong performances among the lot. The vocal standout of the piece is Nikita Burshteyn as Romeo. His sweet, clear, and powerful tenor wouldn’t be amiss in a proper opera house, and he possesses just the right boyish good looks to effortlessly slip into the part. As his “Juliet”, Anna Kostakis is ideally sassy but sweet. Also fitting right into Romeo & Bernadette’s world are Zach Schanne and Michael Notardonato as brash young gangsters. The older generation of musical comedy performers come across just as effectively; indeed, the broad but delectable work from the statuesque Judy McLane, the versatile Troy Valjean Rucker, and the boisterous Carlos Lopez more than get the job done.

RECOMMENDED

ROMEO & BERNADETTE: A MUSICAL TALE OF VERONA AND BROOKLYN 
Off-Broadway, Musical
Amas Musical Theatre / Mezzanine Theatre A.R.T./New York Theatres
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through February 16