A Juliet With Room To Grow
Teenagers are often characterized as selfish, and Kathryn Morgan underscored that point in her portrayal of one of literature's most famous teenagers, Juliet Capulet in New York City Ballet's "Romeo and Juliet," on Wednesday night. Ms. Morgan, one of the four dancers cast as Juliet in the company's new production, is loose-limbed and genuinely timid — qualities that go a long way toward making her Juliet appear convincingly youthful.
She has an easy jump and a fluid, floating arabesque. But Ms. Morgan is also self-absorbed and selfconscious, more interested in her own performance than in her Romeo, Seth Orza. When Ms. Morgan ascended the stairs toward the end of the balcony scene, she didn't glance back at Mr. Orza until she had completed the staircase and reached the opposite end of the balcony. When she extended an arm to touch his face during a moment of supposed tenderness, she could have been reaching for a remote control. At times, she seemed more enthralled with her audience than her supposed infatuation.
It is, however, a bit misguided to place the blame squarely on Ms. Morgan's young shoulders. She's a member of the corps de ballet with less than a year of professional experience.
As Romeo, Mr. Orza was more successful. He faced a few technical difficulties early in the performance, falling out of the turns in attitude and lacking structure in his grand jetés. But his confidence and comfort with the choreography grew as the evening progressed. Mr. Orza's character portrayal was charming, if unremarkable; his Romeo was a strong-jawed heartthrob, a slightly dimwitted pretty boy, and a romantic at heart, loyal to his friends and confidants.
Those friends and confidants, however, proved an uneven pair. As Mercutio, Adam Hendrickson's sloppy footwork undermined his role as a hotheaded spark plug, especially when compared with the crystalline technique of Adrian Danchig-Waring as Benvolio. Mr. Hendrickson's carelessness — improperly placed passes in pirouettes, incomplete fifth positions — was thrown into even sharper relief when held up to Daniel Ulbricht's volatile, virtuoso performance on opening night.
As Tybalt, Tyler Angle was serviceable, but the smile on his face and the pep in his step robbed him of the nuance and gravitas Joaquin de Luz provided in the same role. Christian Tworzyanski as Paris was suitably vapid, and his aggression in demanding Juliet's affection added welcome depth to the role of undesirable suitor. As the Nurse, Gwyneth Muller elicited genuine laughs.
