SOURCE: Shurgot, Michael W. Review of Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare Bulletin 21, no. 3 (fall 2003): 100-02.

In the following review, Shurgot states that the massive sets in the Seattle Repertory Theatre's production of Romeo and Juliet left “no room for subtlety in staging or lighting.”

In Sharon Ott's Romeo and Juliet at Seattle Repertory Theatre, huge, thick black panels, reaching floor to ceiling, textured to resemble the rough stone walls of medieval buildings, dominated the stage. Initially these panels defined the exterior walls of two castles—those of Capulet and Montague—and dark, forbidding streets lighting the way to dusty death. Gregorian chant floated above the stage as young men darted from the dark streets, flashing swords at their enemies. As they tangled and then quickly fled, grieving figures in black, carrying umbrellas, entered from the opposing castles and stopped center stage while bells from within tolled not only for...