‘Romeo’ Forms a Happy Union

If you want to stand out in a crowd, it pays to specialize. The Troubadour Theater Company has carved out a niche on the theater scene with its colorful Shakespearean adaptations, which meld the Bard’s plays with vintage rock scores by such unlikely artists as the Bee Gees and Three Dog Night.

“Romeo Hall & Juliet Oates,” at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, is the group’s latest offering--a comically low-brow sendup of “Romeo and Juliet” set to the music of Hall and Oates.

Strange as it may sound, vintage Hall and Oates hits, such as “Method of Modern Love” and “Private Eyes” dovetail perfectly with Shakespeare’s tragedy--transformed, as are all of Troubadour’s productions, into a fun-filled, family-friendly melange that’s part circus, part rock concert, part improv comedy show. Director Matt Walker, the group’s able ringmaster, is himself a trained circus clown who can as easily juggle as warble a tune.

This show, however, is marginally less wacky than last season’s disco romp “A Midsummer Saturday Night’s Fever Dream.” The problem is largely the venue. In the cozier precincts of the Falcon Theatre, where this reviewer saw “Dream,” Walker and his crew of dedicated shtick-meisters were able to work the crowd with gymnastic aplomb. At the sprawling Ford, however, vaulted entrances from an offstage trampoline become difficult because of the stage’s sheer breadth, and, with the audience farther away, the cast seldom breaks the proscenium.

Still, Troubadour’s game actors provide ample laughs, particularly the toweringly silly Rick Batalla, whose Romeo is a juggernaut goofball with a ready quip and a wandering mustache.

* “Romeo Hall & Juliet Oates,” John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood Hills. Friday and Saturday only, 8 p.m. $25. (323) 461-3673. At GTC’s Theater on the Green, Muckenthaler Cultural Center, 1201 W. Malvern Ave., Fullerton, June 29 and 30, 8:15 p.m. $24.50. At GTC’s Festival Amphitheater, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove, July 6 and 7, 8:30 p.m. $22.50. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.