‘Romeo and Bernadette’

Paper Mill offers Shakespeare as if translated by Brooklyn wise guys, weaned on Neapolitan songs and barraged by episodes of The Sopranos.

By: Stuart Duncan
   Who would have thought that we needed a new musical based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? I mean, isn’t West Side Story and Leonard Bernstein and "Tonight" enough? But this is the winter season at Paper Mill Playhouse, when many longtime patrons head for southern climes and Paper Mill can sneak a sleeper into the mix — a small-cast, low-budget show that might just hit paydirt.
   Well, playwright Mark Saltzman has been waiting for just such an opportunity. He co-authored the long-running revue A… My Name Is Alice, wrote a popular Christmas TV show, Mrs. Santa Claus, for Angela Lansbury and now has come up with Romeo and Bernadette. You really must find a way to see it.
   Basically, Mr. Saltzman has taken Romeo out of Verona in the year 1560 and plunked him, tights and all, into Brooklyn, exactly four centuries later. Romeo still remembers his Juliet and sets out to find her. In the process, he runs afoul of mob bosses, is adopted by one of the gangs and finds his love — only her name seems to be Bernadette now. You remember the old story. Well here it is as if Shakespeare was being translated by Brooklyn wise guys, weaned on Neapolitan songs and barraged by episodes of The Sopranos.
   The music (Mr. Saltzman also wrote the lyrics) is made up of 19th and 20th century composers. For example, Bellini, who wrote the opera Norma, also wrote "Vega Luna," and here the lyrics read: "When He Looked at Me That Way." Leoncavallo (I Pagliacci) wrote "Mattinata," which turns up here as "Moonlight Over Brooklyn." And Rossini, one of the greatest of opera composers, wrote "Caro Mio Ben," a love song that becomes "One Tender Word."
   The cast numbers only 10, with the super-talented John Paul Almon playing at least seven roles, switching wigs, costumes, genders and accents, and getting huge laughs in the process. The entire cast can sing — really sing — far beyond the usual musical-comedy stuff. In fact, there are 22 tunes scattered through the show, although you may be laughing too hard at the lyrics to appreciate them all. Andy Karl absolutely takes the theater apart with "Boom! In Love." Andrew Varela waits until the second act before doing the same with "To Be Tito Titone" (a Rossini tune). Adam Monley, as Romeo, climbs an iron trellis to Bernadette’s bedroom (old story, remember), all the while crooning "O, For A Song" and casually dropping "fuhged-about-it" into the lyrics.
   And still the show stoppers come: Natalie Hill is a charming Italian Princess as Bernadette (she has actually played Juliet and sung "Maria" in other productions). Rosie De Candia has a ball as Bernadette’s friend and sometime advisor. David Brummel and Charles Pistone play the rival fathers with just enough menace to assure us there will be a happy ending. Vince Trani has a delicious time as a mobster with almost no intentions.
   The show is a co-production with the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Florida. More! More!
Romeo and Bernadette continues at Paper Mill Playhouse, Brookside Drive, Millburn, through March 23. Performances: Wed., Fri. 8 p.m., Thurs. 2, 8 p.m., Sat. 2:30, 8 p.m., Sun. 2, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $31-$63; student rush $15. For information, call (973) 376-4343. On the Web: www.papermill.org