THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT ATLANTA BALLET FOX THEATER OCTOBER 6-15, 2000

The world premiere production of Romeo and Juliet directed and choreographed by Michael Pink for the Atlanta Ballet offers fans of the classics a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare's tale of star-crossed love. Set in Verona, Italy, the plot, as in the original, revolves around the long-standing feud between two noble families. When teenaged Juliet (Hye-Young Kim), the daughter of Lord Capulet, falls in love with Romeo Montague (John Welker), the son of her father's nemesis, the die is cast.

Pink's choreography to Prokofiev's score proves exquisite in several places, most notably in the duet danced by the two lovers when they first meet. Juliet's transition from child to woman is marked by a gently shaped arabesque sequence clearly indicating the connection between the two. Kim's portrayal of Juliet is right, demonstrating the qualities of childhood and the awareness of femininity with equal ease.

When Romeo's best friend and gallant tease, Mercutio (Xiao Chen), is fatally wounded by Juliet's cousin, Tybalt (Jim Stein), the crowd too believes this to be another of Mercutio's jokes. The character's formerly lighthearted antics become ironic; the audience knows that Mercutio will die while the players do not. Chen's portrayal of Mercutio is inspired and believable, with just the right touch of devil-may-care in his performance. Joe Roesner alternates in the role with Chen.

The slow, menacing dagger dance performed by the Capulets at the betrothal party for Juliet is powerful. Men and women alike hold jeweled daggers they thrust before them, then raise in a long arc overhead, before sweeping past their partners to bow.

Though relationships between characters are confusing in the earlier crowd sequences, the gaiety of a community festival is charmingly conveyed by a combination of Renaissance-era country dances and general tomfoolery. The effect is one of theatrical spectacle and the end result is an ambitious performance vehicle requiring large numbers of dancers--always a plus for a large company with dancers to move up through the ranks. In fact, three separate castings were required for the eleven performances. Additional dancers performing the role of Juliet included Julianne Kepley and Kristine Winkler, while Denis Malinkin and Wei Dongsheng alternated Welker's Romeo.

The lighting and staging of the work foreshadow the tragedy effectively, juxtaposing dark, foreboding scenes with light, flirtatious ones. Motifs projected onto the scrims appear to be borrowed from the architecture of the theater itself. Sets were simple, well integrated and easily moved during the performance.

Finally, Jonah Hooper (Lord Capulet) and Julianne Kepley (Nurse) distinguished their performances by portraying volatile emotions vividly, not only on their faces, but also in the expressiveness of their movements and postures.

The three-act ballet lasted more than two hours, counting the two intermissions. The company's professional orchestra beautifully performed the Prokofiev score.