STAGE REVIEW : PASSION WRIT SMALL IN ‘ROMEO’

“You kiss by the book,” says Juliet to Romeo. In some productions, she’s encouraging him to try again, and not be so formal. At South Coast Repertory, she says it with admiration, as if he wrote the book.

Nice--and not the only fresh touch in Edward Payson Call’s staging. But you do rather have to hunt for them. In the main, this production is “by the book,” in the usual sense. The ceremony of “Romeo and Juliet” is played out, but we don’t feel it as a living situation.

That’s wrong for a play about the volatility of pure emotion. “Romeo and Juliet” doesn’t need an Italian accent, as in the Zeffirelli film, and it doesn’t need to be performed in a jungle gym, as in Milton Katselas’ staging at the Skylight Theatre a few seasons back.

But it does need passion. Its characters--whether lovers or haters--have got to care. They have to be ready to go out of bounds to get what they want, an impulse not incompatible with a highly formal society. Call’s cast is fatally well modulated.

Monique Fowler’s Juliet begins as one of those biddable daughters who has never given her parents a moment’s unease. That’s excellent, as is the sense that, once she does see what she wants, she’ll be as stubborn as a mule about getting it, no matter what her parents think.

But where’s the delight, the quickness, the merriment, the fear of a young girl suddenly swept away by love? Fowler plods down the path of the play, saying her speeches very nicely, but not once being caught by surprise. How can there be magic in that? And what is “Romeo and Juliet” without magic?

Tom Harrison is Romeo, as he was in Katselas’ hippy production. The style is more formal, but the personality is much the same. Like Fowler, he begins well, as a lad who enjoys watching himself playing the moonstruck lover. Unfortunately, we don’t see a lot more depth when he finds himself truly involved with another person. Harrison is so careful not to overdo Romeo that he hardly does him at all.

Not much goes on between this Romeo and Juliet but the courtesies. Nor do we see the bond between Romeo and Mercutio, amiably played by Gregory Itzin. It’s not clear--to the heart--why Romeo won’t fight, why Mercutio fights in his place and how terribly his last words--”A plague on both your houses”--fall on Romeo’s ear.

As John Glore points out in his program notes, “Romeo and Juliet” isn’t just about love. It’s about what the Italians call virtu-- honor, pride, the need to stand up for your comrades at the cost of your own life. These aren’t living issues in this production. While observing the formal requirements of the text, everyone seems on the verge of saying “Have a nice day.”

Some nice little things happen. Juliet’s nurse (Angela Paton) stands up for her baby, even though she well knows that Capulet (John-David Keller) may dismiss her for her impertinence. We do get a sense of virtu here.

And it’s interesting that Romeo nearly gags on his poison, while Juliet quaffs her potion in one swig. Now and then an idea almost emerges from this “Romeo and Juliet.” But the general effect is that of a duty call.

Cliff Faulkner’s plaza set has a heavy impressiveness and Susan Denison Geller’s costumes dress it nicely. But we’d like to see the faces more clearly than Tom Ruzika’s lighting sometimes allows. Romeo’s eyes are nearly always in a shadow.

‘ROMEO AND JULIET’ Shakespeare’s tragedy, at South Coast Repertory. Honorary producers O’Donnell, Brigham & Partners/Southern. Director Edward Payson Call. Setting Cliff Faulkner. Costumes Susan Denison Geller. Lighting Tom Ruzika. Choreography Linda Kostalik-Boussom. Composer Richard Jennings. Fight director Christopher Villa. Production manager Paul Hammond. Stage manager Bonnie Lorengar. With Tom Harrison, Monique Fowler, Richard Gould, French Stewart, John-David Keller, Irene Roseen, Ron Boussom, Angela Paton, Bryan Rasmussen, Geoff Elliott, John Ellington, Gregory Itzin, Don Took, Diane Robinson, Scott Freeman, T. Bradshaw Yates, Robert Machray, Sean Coleman, Justin Meads, Mark Wagner, Lisa Black, Scott Herby, Steve Ingrassia, Ken Jensen, Kitty Karp, Julie Lehman, Paul Read, Doug Self, Julie Terrell, Jessica Thompson, Kevin Waldron. Plays Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7:30, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Closes March 29. Tickets $17-$24. 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. (714) 957-4033.