REVIEW: Romeo & Juliet at Shakespeare and Company
- amymodesti5
- Sep 18
- 5 min read
LENOX, MA - From July 18 to Aug. 10, Shakespeare & Company presented their first outdoor show of the 2025 theater season, William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, held at the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre in Lenox.
The production, co-directed by Kevin G. Coleman, and Jonathan Epstein, featured two female leads playing the titular characters, Romeo (Caitlin Rose) and Juliet (Ashley McCauley Moore).
"This cast as a whole is committed to both the sanctity and the whimsy of telling a story like this, and all of the productions of this play that I've been involved in, this couple (Caitlin Rose, Romeo, and Ashley McCauley Moore, Juliet) takes delight in each other more than any other Romeo and Juliet I've ever seen." Jonathan Epstein said.
About Romeo & Juliet
Romeo & Juliet centered on the continuing feud between the Capulet and Montague families. While those families were feuding, Romeo and Juliet, while attending a party, meet each other for the first time and soon, begin to fall in love.
In Shakespearian time, falling in love comes with consequences. Lord Montague (Luke Haskell) didn't want Romeo to fall in love with Juliet, but instead, wanted him to be in a relationship with Rosaline. Lord Capulet (Juan Luis Acevedo) and Lady Capulet (Rory Hammond) want Juliet to marry Paris (J. Austyn Williamson).
Between the sword fights, Romeo and Juliet's secret rendezvous, (despite their families' dismays) and the friends that went out of their way to make certain that Juliet didn't marry Paris, it was ultimately the foe that gave Romeo poison to drink alongside Juliet's sleeping body inside the Capulet crypt, resulting in Romeo's death and later, Juliet's suicide.
The Review
Rose and McCauley Moore's portrayal of the titular characters was excellent and convincing. From watching them embrace each other on the balcony, not wanting to let go of one another, to their surprise kiss at the party, Rose and McCauley Moore were very comfortable and at ease in their roles, almost as if they've played these characters before in the past.
April 2024, McCauley Moore and Rose were both involved in a prior production of Romeo & Juliet at their graduate school, FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training.
"Our director, Jonny Epstein - who co-directed and plays the friar in this production- talked about how he dreamed he could take our production at school up to Shakespeare & Company." Rose recalled. "So, the inspiration to perform at Shakespeare and Company had been a budding dream for a long time."
Rose said that auditioning for the Lenox production was one of two most important auditions in her acting career thus far; the other was for auditioning for graduate school. Rose's goal throughout her graduate studies was to audition for the role of Romeo at this year's Shakespeare & Company production.
Rose's time in Epstein's class during graduate school became the foundation for how she approaches all acting, including Shakespeare. It was through Epstein where she heard him talk about Shakespeare & Company and it became her dream to act in Lenox, surrounded with people who love Shakespeare as she does.
Rose connected with Romeo, especially with his bravery.
"Romeo, his fault aside, is a brave person, and that's what I connect with him the deepest on." Rose said. "Despite his circumstances, his family, the conflict with the Capulets, and his actions, he continually chooses LOVE (or tries to)."
About Caitlin Rose
Originally from Knoxville, TN (close to the Smoky Mountains), Rose has always been an actor. She first learned how to tell a story through ballet training, but it was in elementary school where she became involved in theater.
"I went to an elementary school that was very art focused and every year, we'd have a play." Rose said. "It wasn't until 5th grade when I was in a school that didn't automatically include its students in the arts, that I wasn't involved in theatre. I went to their production of this silly play called Jack and the Three Sillies, and I remember sitting in the front row of the audience thinking, 'I'd be really good at this'."
“I remember as we read aloud, ‘I wish I could read for Romeo’, but of course, at that time, that wasn’t allowed.” Rose recalled. “After school that day, I found a copy of No Fear Shakespeare and read the entirety of the play. I remember thinking, ‘I’ve never read anything like this! It’s a treasure hunt discovering the depth of what they’re saying.’ I was immediately obsessed and forever changed.”
Romeo & Juliet remains Rose's favorite play of all time, and Romeo has been her favorite Shakespeare character since she was 15 years old.
“This story (Romeo & Juliet) has fascinated me from the time I was a teenager. Every time I read it, act it, or watch it, I always expect a happy ending because I truly believe in the power of love, but, as my mentor Jonny describes Shakespeare: it’s about love and what gets in the way.” Rose said.
As for Romeo, Rose had always admired her character’s undeniable full presence in his emotions and the capacity to live in what others may dream as the “extremes”.
"It's always truly bothered me that people write off Romeo as flaky or moody, or that the love he and Juliet feel for each other isn't true. Theater is meant to show the first time, the last time, or the most important time something happens." Rose explains. "By acting as Romeo, I feel I am truly honoring and becoming a vessel to every person who has felt that once-in-a-lifetime love and the conviction to do everything within your power to keep it."
Rose's reflections on the play
Playing Romeo on the Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre stage for Rose was a dream come true, and she treasured every moment that she portrayed Romeo onstage.
“Every night, I was continually surprised how if I, the actor, simply breathe, I can take director Kevin Coleman’s advice and “survive the text””. Rose reflected. “I found I was so open to emotions and the present moment that tears would freely flow without any effort at all. I felt truly transformed being onstage with the cast - seeing the moment Juliet falls in love with Romeo every night, seeing the passion and color of the friar’s eyes come to life during the banishment scene, the magic of performing outdoors, and truly connecting with the audience in ways I never have before.”
This was also Rose's first time performing at Shakespeare & Company as well. She hopes that the venue will have her back for a future production.
Since Romeo & Juliet ended, Rose moved to Portland, OR to reside with her lady love in their new home where they will begin to establish their lives and careers. In Oregon, Rose hopes to find her way into a western Shakespeare festival.
Beginning Oct. 10 and running through Oct. 26, Rose will perform in Noel Coward's production of Design for a Living at Imago Theatre, and she'll also become a teaching artist for the Echo Theatre Company.
Rose, who’s also a figure model, will be posing for artists, art schools, and the artist community at several places in Oregon.
Romeo & Juliet, through Rose's eyes and the spectators who attended the Shakespeare & Company production, witnessed the beautiful and tragic story of two young people falling in love, both joyfully and youthfully, and how that capacity for joy allows for true tragedy in a beautiful, safe space while feeling the full magic and beauty of theater in the words of William Shakespeare.
