By Brianna Ciniglio

Columnist

Who knew that four actors could blow you away in only 50 minutes?

Although the play was set on the small stage in the Spiegel Theater, with just a table and a few chairs as props, I found this performance stunning.

Maya Carter, junior, and Justin Chesney, sophomore, were in the starring roles, with alumni Lydia Leeds and Peter Garino acting in all other parts.

The show is set as a flashback after Romeo’s and Juliet’s deaths. It was presented in a way that the now-deceased Romeo and Juliet could even listen in on scenes, like Romeo hearing about the plan for Juliet to fake her own death.

The performance was a perfect combination of romance and humor. Their vows to each other gave me chills, while Leeds’s and Garino’s constant changes of character had the whole audience doubled over in laughter.

Garino, who wrote this rendition, originally created this show as a high school student’s first experience with Shakespeare. It combined the traditional Shakespearean dialogue with modern slang such as “dude,” as well as reiteration of lines in a more understandable language. My favorite example of this was during the balcony scene. After Juliet suggests that the two be married, Romeo responds with “Holy crap, did she just propose to me?”

Although Tuesday night’s performance was free for students, tickets were sold to alumni for Wednesday, March 10 in order to raise money for the reconstruction of Hofstra’s Globe Theater.

Hofstra’s Globe Theater is a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London. This theater was one of the first models of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in the world and had been considered by drama students to be the symbol of Hofstra’s Drama Department. Unfortunately, in 2008 it was retired and is currently in storage in Adam’s Playhouse.

“I wouldn’t have devoted so much of my life to Shakespeare if it wasn’t for the Globe Theater,” said Garino.

This quick rendition of Romeo and Juliet was one of the ways the drama department – featuring both current students and alumni  – plan to fund for the Globe’s redesign.

The performance, which was of Off-Broadway quality, earns my recognition and, hopefully, its fair share of profit towards the redesign of a beloved theater.