Had I not seen these two particular plays so closely together, I would not have caught it.
Both feature a character named 'Balthasar'.
Might that character have been the same person?
When I queried the world wide web, I received an unsatisfying reply.
Apparently, no graduate student has pursued that as a thesis.
I wish that Dr. Joseph Killorin were still alive.
He had such an expansive knowledge of the Bard's plays and I know we could have had quite a discussion about such a thing.
So, what say I approach it on my own?
I say William Shakespeare placed the character in both plays deliberately, perhaps as an inside joke for himself, curious as to whether anyone would catch on.
That was evident in "Romeo & Juliet", the play seen tonight, performed by the 7th and 8th grade students at Garrison Arts Academy.
How very age-appropriate for those tragic lovers, non รจ vero?
That's why I wanted so much to see this version.
I'm so glad to have caught this closing night performance!
I'll be looking forward to future works with Noah Jasso and Adoration Boothe, two of the 14-year-olds advancing to high school, who were absolutely perfect as the teenagers in love, staying in character even at the play's end.
Kudos to Jaclyn Jackson as the slain 'Tybalt', who stayed in position on the stage from the end of Act I, through intermission, and into Act II, when the body was carried off.
Kudos also to Ke'Aisha Powell, actor for 'Balthasar'.
The absolute dismay shown for having let down 'Romeo', leading to his death, urged me to delve into that character.
That's when I watched the opening night performance of "Much Ado About Nothing" by the 11th and 12th graders at Savannah Country Day.
I speak not of the same actor, of course, as 'Balthasar' was played by Tanner Kaminsky for this high school production.
I speak of the character himself.
This time, as well as being a singer, 'Balthasar' was the manservant for 'Don Pedro', the Prince from Spain, visiting his brother there in Messina.
So, both like-named characters are manservants?
Might it be that both are actually one and the same???
I hold that to be true.
Kindly, hear me out.
"Romeo and Juliet" was penned by Shakespeare between 1591 and 1595 and is set in the city of Verona, in northern Italy.
Picture a younger, more naive, 'Balthasar', perhaps on his first job as a manservant, and naturally forming a close relationship with the 'Montague' teen he serves.
Now, imagine the grief and distress of that young man when he finds the message he gave his charge was incorrect and led not only to his death, but to that of 'Juliet'.
How very heartbroken 'Balthasar' must have been!
Fast forward to 1598-1599, the time when Shakespeare penned "Much Ado About Nothing".
This time he sets the play in Messina, way down in southern Italy.
Perhaps the short elapsed time between these two plays, as well as the physical distance between the two cities of Verona and Messina, led his mind to thoughts of what the young, emotionally-distressed 'Balthasar' might have done in those few years.
Perhaps he left Verona and all its sadness, seeking a new life...
perhaps he moved to Messina and sought work there as a more experienced, less naive, manservant to the wealthy, bringing his singing ability along as an asset...
perhaps.
And so it was written, and so it was done.
Had it not been for these two schools having chosen these two plays for their graduating thespians to perform as their last hurrahs, I would not have had this perspective into a side character.
Right place, right time.
Now, I share that inside joke of the Bard's.
(smile!)
1 comment:
I forgot to mention: both plays were performed on thrust stages.
That means the audience surrounded the action on three sides, with the cast entering and leaving through spaces left between the seats.
That also meant we were all on the main stage together, with the action occurring within arm's reach at times.
Very good!
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