PLAY: That's not Shakespeare

We recently took our family to the Coeur d’Alene High School production of “Romeo and Juliet.” I grew up reading Shakespeare and enjoying his plays with my family. I have often pondered why certain directors try to improve on Shakespeare, but this was my first experience with a director who actually sought to degrade this great work.

The explicit sexual gestures were more in line with a second rate burlesque comic than with a great work of art.

Shakespeare, of course, did not deny the sexual experience yet neither did he demean it the way this production did. The director, Mr. Helm, added crude hand gestures, inappropriate crotch grabbing and various other “dramatic licenses” that made this play unprofessional and inappropriate for the families that support and attend these productions.

We left the play deeply disappointed and disconcerted that so much great student talent and time was wasted on such a substandard production. The director’s misuse of overbearing and distracting stage makeup and his concocted interjection of barnyard body language is a mockery to Shakespeare and an insult to the audience.

One star would be generous, but truly, this imploding star is nothing more than a black hole that sucked the life out of “Romeo and Juliet” long before the death scene.

Is it time to boycott? We’re not sure, but unfortunately our family is now forced to do the copious research that now seems to be required to find out whether CHS plays are appropriate for family viewing. How sad.

KEVIN and

LINDA RATIGAN

Hayden