Running Away from School, Falling Madly in Love

This past Saturday evening I got an email confirming that I’d be on the list to see a show called The Last Goodbye in New York on Monday night, a reading of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet set to Jeff Buckley’s music.  What did this actually mean?  I had no idea.  But after so many years of listening to the long-deceased JB, I jumped at the opportunity to see his music played live in any capacity.  Now, if you don’t know who Jeff Buckley is, stop reading right now, RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND, and go listen to him.

…did you listen?

Sure, I thought to myself, ‘Juli, you’ve got class on Monday and Tuesday; it’s senior year, you can’t just go gallivanting into the city whenever you please.’  But then somehow I had bought a round-trip bus ticket to New York, was rushing to catch the Red line to South Station, my weekend bag unzipped and my jacket falling off my shoulders, and the next minute was stepping out into the city.  Eh, classes could wait.  That lunch date – canceled.  This was going to be the epitome of everything I have ever passionately loved in my little life – Shakespeare, music, Jeff Buckley!

what a cutie.

Monday night rolled around and I took my seat at the theater.  The crowd was older – mostly men and women in their mid thirties, dressed in that brand of I’m-chic-because-I’m-poor that you might expect to find in ex-alt-grunge music lovers from the nineties.  The musicians on stage were noticeably nervous.  Hell, I was nervous for them too.  You know, cover bands always seem like a good idea.  But in reality they are always quite disappointing and depressing.  How can you really expect another human being to perform like Freddy Mercury, Robert Plant, Jeff Buckley?

The lights dimmed and the show began.  I won’t go into too much detail.  But suffice it to say that the show was…AMAZING (aside from the fact that I sprained my ankle during intermission).  It initially took some getting used to.  The performance was more musical-like than I had expected.  Actors would trade off, breaking dialogue to go up to the mic, sing a fitting JB song with the band (Forget Her, when Romeo is in love with Rosaline, Eternal Life, when Mercutio is dying, or Hallelujah when the townspeople find the dead lovers at the end), and then they would continue with their dialogue.  It was strange to hear songs that I’d known and loved for so long being sung by Shakespearean characters, used for Shakespeare’s agenda.  But the new format didn’t take any of the power away from his music.  Instead it shed light on how the two different art forms informed one another.  Jeff Buckley is the epitome of a Shakespearean character – tragically romantic, absurdly existential.  And Shakespeare’s play was given an altogether new, dark, and grungy dimension.  It was sort of like the effect you see with long-term couples: they tend to become more like one another, she taking on his habit of saying ‘dude,’ he acquiring her tendency to pause before answering questions.  Star-crossing lovers!

who wouldn’t want to look at picture upon picture of JB?

Overall, the actors were convincing and multi-talented; the musicians were for the most part spot-on.  However, Juliet must go, as she looked and acted neither young, feminine, or beautiful (all of which Juliet must be).  Romeo, on the other hand, was purrrrfect.  The boy who played Romeo was simply beyond anything in my wildest imagination.  He looked JUST LIKE JEFF BUCKLEY.  He sang JUST LIKE JEFF BUCKLEY.  I do not exaggerate when I say, HE IS THE LIVING REINCARNATION OF JEFF BUCKLEY (with curlier hair).  And I’m smitten.

One more performance tonight.  Yo if you’re in New York City, go see it at The Wild Project on 3rd St. between Avenue A and Ave. B.