By Ryan Harrington, Contributor
Canisius University Little Theatre (LT) presented For the Love of Juliet on Nov. 21 and 22 as the final play of this semester. As a proud LT supporter, I was delighted to attend in the newly christened black box theatre that is temporarily replacing the Marie Maday Theatre after the fall of Lyons Hall.
Our student leaders rose to the challenge and delivered a great show, but I would be remiss if I did not reiterate Mikayla Boyd’s assertion in The Griffin’s Oct. 25 edition that LT deserves a “space more conducive to performances.” As a liberal arts university, Canisius should be dedicated to providing a well-rounded education that values the arts equally with the sciences, and while I applaud administration for the new dedicated space, I would like to remind them to view this as a temporary solution.
Like half of LT’s productions, this play was student directed, run and teched. This was the first show in the new black box to have a set with walls and a dedicated ‘backstage’ area. The behind-the-scenes work of a play remains behind the scenes, but without a competent director, the miscellaneous pieces of a play could not come together. As such I’d like to begin by giving ‘flowers’ to senior Amanda Ostroske who pieced together a fun, light-hearted and very amusing play.
For the Love of Juliet follows spunky and determined actress Julie as she strives for the role of Juliet in the upcoming fictional production, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Julie, played by Abigail Gurgol, valiantly led the show as she dealt with a useless ex-boyfriend, a melodramatic muse and a scatterbrained muse-in-training. I was particularly impressed by Gurgol’s heartfelt monologue that won her the role of Juliet. She was perfect for the role.
Gurgol was supported by an equally solid cast of quirky characters. Julie was assisted by Romeo, her muse – or spirit guide – that only she could see. Rather than goddesses, these muses were like nine-to-five office workers with interpersonal drama. It was unclear whether Julie’s muse was supposed to be the embodiment of the Romeo from Shakespeare’s play, or just some dude (or dudette) that happened to be named Romeo.
Mallory Knox, a favorite of mine in every LT production, did not disappoint in her portrayal of Romeo. She brought the emotion to a lovable, controlling spirit guide that wasn’t ready to let go of his student. However, somebody should definitely call Muse HR about Romeo’s ambiguously romantic relationship with his boss that definitely was not workplace appropriate.
Comedic favorite Dominic Vivolo played Alex, the lazy ex-boyfriend, and readied the audience to cheer as Julie kicked him to the curb. Of course, I did not and was not supposed to like Alex, but Dominic gave as outstanding of a performance as we have come to expect from him. He was funny, well-timed and perfectly obnoxious all together. While I doubt Dominic had more fun because he was blonde, I certainly did.
Fictional directors, played by Mo Hill and Alexa Gioia, also made brief but memorable appearances. I only wish we got to see them both more, but I am hopeful we will see them performing again this spring.
Wigged out about his own audition, Alex was assigned the newly minted muse Ginger, portrayed by Alexis Logan. I saved Ginger for last because she was my favorite character. Delightfully goofy and wonderfully unprepared, Ginger stole the show as the comedic lead in the second act. Whether she was missing her shoe, her necklace or her head, Alexis gave a quick, funny and lovable take on the ditzy intern. I am excited to see her in future productions.
Overall, this short play made for a perfect night out. I cannot recommend future LT productions enough – just make sure you reserve your free tickets in advance because with only 50 seats we know they’ll always be full.
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