Do the best, skip the rest

Kenneth MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet,” which American Ballet Theatre is dancing here during the New York company’s run through Sunday, turns 40 next year. Its longevity and long roster of stars in the title roles --beginning with, but not limited to, Rudolf Nureyev and Margo Fonteyn -- suggest it’s a classic.

But as seen Saturday at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, it’s a classic teetering on the brink of becoming a museum piece.

Had it been created in the 19th century, which is its true spiritual home, it might have suffered the fate of other ballets of the period and come down to us in parts, not as a whole. The balcony scene and the third act pretty much give us the best the work has to offer.

The rest looks increasingly like schematic filler, particularly in light of more recent narrative ballets such as John Neumeier’s “Nijinsky” or Boris Eifman’s “Red Giselle,” which tell their stories more through powerful choreography than some mix of movement and acting.

An argument could be made in fact that MacMillan’s “Romeo” has its greatest emotional impact precisely in those scenes that are acted more than danced: Juliet’s frantic struggles against marrying Paris or the star-crossed lovers’ suicides at the end of the work. Do we really need to go through everything else to get there? It wasn’t merely that so much of the company looked dutiful and dispirited on opening night. What really could the corps make of so much start-and-stop movement?

Or of the faceless fashion parade that opens the scene at the Capulets’ ball and the numbing dance that follows? For that matter, why is Romeo pursuing Rosaline, who looks and behaves exactly like every other noble woman on stage?

And why is he spending so much time hanging around the three whores? A cynical voice whispers, “Filler, filler, filler.”

What has been carrying this creaky vehicle into longevity is star power and dramatic commitment of the other characters. Fortunately, we saw enough of that Saturday, from the smaller to the greater roles. The great Frederick Franklin made the cameo part of Friar Laurence vivid and compelling. Georgina Parkinson similarly represented luxury casting in the role of Lady Capulet.

Carlos Molina made a dignified Paris, suggesting even that he might have made a loving husband for Juliet. Carlos Lopez was a surprisingly serious-minded Benvolio. Erica Cornejo, Stella Abrera and Kristi Boone danced the three Harlots with the usual energy and unusual spirit.

Ethan Brown made Tybalt worthy of respect. It looked as if Tybalt’s murder of Mercutio was more accidental than deliberate, and certainly not the cowardly stab from the back we’ve seen in years past. The high-flying Herman Cornejo was justifiably a scene-stealer as Mercutio.

As Romeo, Ethan Stiefel embodied grace and purity, partnered thoughtfully, but failed to plumb much depth in the character. As Juliet, the diminutive Xiomara Reyes looked astonishingly vulnerable as a child bride to be bartered in an arranged marriage. Her moments of panic and her death scene also were quite powerful. But both she and Stiefel seemed to be working at ecstasy rather than feeling it.

Ormsby Wilkins conducted Prokofiev’s variable score with consideration and sensitivity.

For all that, it may be time to retire the whole ballet in favor of a greatest hits from “Romeo and Juliet” program.

*

ABT ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday

Price: $25 to $85.

Contact: (213) 365-3500