‘Romeo’ Has Pop; No Snap or Crackle

The Montagues and Capulets as rival record companies, presumably in contemporary Hollywood?

That’s the initial concept behind Dani Bedau’s staging of “Romeo and Juliet” for Shakespeare Festival/LA. But the concept fizzles after only about half an hour.

During the first few minutes, the snazzily dressed characters appear to be gathering for one of pop music’s many awards ceremonies when trouble breaks out between the two labels.

A few minutes later, at the Capulets’ party, young Paris (DeSean Terry) and two backup dancers perform a musical interlude that might qualify for MTV. Indeed, seldom has this play offered a more charismatic Paris, who’s usually the bland also-ran that Juliet’s parents are foisting on her, as opposed to her chosen Romeo.

That a teenage girl would reject such a flashy suitor as this Paris seems unlikely and places a greater burden than usual on convincing us that the title characters feel an instant chemistry, which isn’t all that apparent here.

Nor does it help the cause of credibility that Juliet first appears in a deliberately boyish outfit. She looks like the kind of skeptical girl who would be a fan of the hip cartoon series “Daria,” not one who would fall head-over-heels for a guy based on a brief encounter at a party or plot to secretly get married. Careena Melia is forced to make a sudden and implausible transformation into a more conventional Juliet.

Maulik Pancholy’s Romeo looks and sounds, in his vocal timbre, like one of the youngest members of his crowd instead of one of the most mature. So it’s hard to buy that he, too, is ready for matrimony.

This gets to the heart of the problem with the concept: A contemporary pop mogul might be less inclined to make sure his teenage offspring marry than to make sure they use condoms.

Although most of the specific references to the concept gradually disappear, remnants remain. The costumes and a rock soundtrack from the band Lava Diva are unobjectionable. But a few of the scenic elements look increasingly out of place.

On the morning when the unconscious Juliet is discovered in her bed and judged dead, a lighting pattern of red zigzags--appropriate enough in the first few festive scenes--and lingers on the backdrop.

And in the final scene at the crypt, a chain of blue and yellow lights still crosses the stage, as if we’re in a nightclub. A boldly styled tepee-like object, used mainly as Juliet’s bedroom, remains obtrusively on stage during other scenes.

A few of the performances overcome the conceptual problems, especially that of an ebullient J. Karen Thomas as a young no-nonsense nurse. But the obstacles aren’t only conceptual.

The alfresco Pershing Square venue is built in a way that dissipates much of the energy generated on stage. The gap between stage and audience is too wide, and the lack of any rake in the audience seating flings the spectators across a wide, flat expanse that makes the action even more remote, especially with the surrounding skyscrapers already dwarfing the stage.

The board of Shakespeare Festival/LA should be considering ways to obtain audience seating that heightens the intensity and intimacy of the action.

“Romeo and Juliet,” Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive St., L.A., nightly at 8, except Monday, through July 20. Free with a donation of canned food. Also, at South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes Peninsula, July 25-Aug. 4, 8:15 p.m. Dark July 29 and 30. $15-$18. Information: (213) 481-2273. Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes.

Maulik Pancholy...Romeo

Careena Melia...Juliet

Marika Becz...Lady Capulet

Tom Ramirez...Lord Capulet

J. Karen Thomas...Nurse

Michael Matthys...Mercutio

Chris Butler...Benvolio

Dathan Hooper...Tybalt

Rif Hutton...Lord Montague/Apothecary

David Nevell...Friar Lawrence

Randy Kovitz...Escalus

DeSean Terry...Paris

Cindy Lu...Lady Montague

By William Shakespeare. Directed by Dani Bedau. Set by Snezana Petrovic. Costumes by Audrey Fisher. Lighting by Trevor Norton. Sound by Jon Gottlieb. Composers Dawn Fintor and Gabe Lopez. Fight director Randy Kovitz. Choreographer Susan Goldberg. Production stage manager Amber Wedin.