Romeo and Juliet: Jerusalem directed by Jake Sher '05, definitely made use of the space they used, but the setting was not always clear. But good acting made the lack of a set almost a null point.The play started and right away, the audience had to ask itself where the show was taking place. According to the playbill, it was supposed to be modern Jerusalem, but with the costumes worn, it could have been set in modern day America, minus the Shakespearean language. Jeans and T-shirts and suits and guns made the show seem like it could have taken place in New York or Los Angeles. Finally, we saw a couple of Israeli soldiers, Lord and Lady Montague, which put things a bit more in perspective. The use of the floor in Levin Ballroom was a change from the usual stage-audience setup and the cast took advantage of the entire space from wall to wall.

There were several actors who gave great performances. Romeo, Michael Camp '07, was very persuasive in his melancholy undying love for Juliet, who was played by Sandha Khin '07. This nearly all-freshman cast gave an interesting performance. Some acting was overdramatic and some characters were not fully developed, but their line delivery was flawless, easily commanding the Shakespearian language. Doug Van Hollen '04 gave an amazing performance as Mercutio. The audience was buzzing about his performance after the show.

There were a couple of very noticeable changes, though. Friar Lawrence became Imam and Rabbi Lawrence, played by Joanna Lazar '07 and Michael Carnow '07. When Lady Capulet asks how long it will be until Juliet's birthday, she instead says, "How long till Pesach time?" And Juliet suddenly jumped from just under 14-years-old to just under 18. They also go to synagogue, and during the Capulets' party in the second act there was separate dancing for men and women. The boys were very funny though, doing different Jewish dances and just generally shaking their behinds.

Because of the changes that were actually made, more changes should have been made to maintain consistency. The play was still set in Verona in the text, even though it was supposed to be Jerusalem. And at the end of the play, in a very unexpected addition, Benvolio, played by Assaf Ben-Atar '07, came out on stage and unzipped his jacket to reveal a bomb strapped to his stomach. He shed the bomb then walked quickly off the performance area. Because the audience knew the show was supposed to take place in Jerusalem, the bomb made sense in a broad sense, but otherwise had no business being in the show.

A few scenes were also cut including the wedding scene, and some cast members should have spoken a little slower. But using Israeli music during scene changes was a nice touch, and Romeo and Juliet's encounter at the Capulet home was also very well done. They even made use of upper Levin for the balcony scene, which was a great idea. Overall, Romeo and Juliet: Jerusalem was well done, but would have benefited greatly if more attention was paid to the little changes to increase overall consistency.