Pu/SB
Oregon Daily Emerald
February 11, 2003
Valentine’s Day special
How far would you go for love?
Loveable pets
Mix tapes/Page2B
Virgin valentines
Page 8B
Chocolate? / Page 6B
'Romeo & Juliet7: the ultimate love story
Shakespeare!* classic play
withstands the test
of time and modem updates
Jacquelyn Lewis
Pulse Editor
Whether Valentine’s Day conjures
up dreamy images of couples kissing
or simply induces vomiting, there’s
no denying that love is in the air —
and no twosome represents V-day’s
glossed-over, idyllic image of “per
fect” ardor better than Romeo and
Juliet. After all, the star-crossed
lovers did go the ultimate distance
for romance. They were willing to
die — millions of times, on screens
and stages all over the world —
rather than sacrifice their passion.
Some historians contend the play
dates all the way back to the late
1500s. As cheesy and overdone as
the William Shakespeare classic has
become in recent years, I must ad
mit I’m obsessed with it — even the
bastardized versions. Balcony
scenes in ballets leave me breath
less. Baz Luhrmann’s urbanized
1996 movie version practically cata
pulted me (and thousands of other
then-hormonal teens) into rapturous
convulsions, much to the dismay of
Shakespeare purists everywhere.
The moment Romeo and Juliet ini
tially glimpsed each other through a
bathroom divider/aquarium set my
little heart on fire — and still does.
The subsequent elevator kiss sends
me reeling every time.
My fixation might be embarrass
ing, except for the fact I know I’m
not alone. Famous film spin-offs, lav
ish theater productions such as West
Side Story and never-ending refer
ences to the tragedy point to an en
tire culture marinated in sweet,
sweet images of Montague and Ca
pulet. Thus, began my Valentine’s
inspired quest: To find someone who
could understand and explain the
iconography of our passion.
The search led to assistant pro
fessor of theater arts John Schmor.
He seemed a logical discovery, giv
en that he is currently immersed in
directing the play, “Romeo and
Juliet,” which opens April 2 at Lord
Leebrick Theatre. Schmor, who
has been involved in the theater
arts for 30 years, said he has always
wanted to work on this production.
He has several theories why the
doomed lovers have become a cul
tural mainstay.
“One of (the reasons) is that we
don’t have a better rendition of first
love than the balcony scene,” he
said. “I can’t think of a scene that
does it as well.”
He added that a wide range of au
diences can relate to the story.
“You can read this play at every
age level, from a thousand different
vantage points,” he said.
The heart of this statement
clicked on a light bulb in my head.
Indeed, Romeo and Juliet memories
and fantasies peek through layers of
experience at every stage of life. As a
child, I envied Juliet’s fancy dresses
and secret midnight meetings. Ado
lescence yielded to a different sort of
longing: Visions of furtive lips brush
ing against one another (“O trespass
sweetly urged! Give me my sin
again”), the defiance of pesky par
ents, a secret wedding and, of
course, sex. Adulthood has lead to
the desire — albeit tainted with cyn
icism — for a love legitimate enough
to warrant death. There’s no doubt
old age will someday leave me wist
fully glancing back to a time when
the pair’s plight seemed feasible.
I carry the story with me like a
child might hang onto an old blanket
for comfort, and I think the rest of
the Western world does, too. This
makes sense, considering Schmor
attributed Romeo and Juliet’s unre
lenting popularity to simple familiar
ity, saying “it’s almost a commodity.”
However, he added that this iden
tification can be dangerous for pro
duction directors because people ar
rive with preconceived notions of
the tale. Schmor said his take on
Turn to Love story, page 4B