Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet

See it if You want to see excellent acting in a experiment that doesn't work.

Don't see it if You care about either play and don't want to see something that only works as an acting lesson.

See it if If you want to see Vanya and romeo and Juliet played agains each other and enjoy bedlam companies reinterpretations of the classics

Don't see it if You are looking for recognizable interpretations of classical plays and traditional theatre

See it if you like Bedlam's treatment of plays in the canon. I found this one a challenge: why they interwove these two plays is not obvious.

Don't see it if You like to see theater that is straight forward and doesn't present a problem interpreting.

See it if you love the text of R&J and Uncle Vanya because there are some really clever moments in this, you like experimental, absurdist theatre

Don't see it if you are looking for something traditional, IT'S LONNNNGGG, not into meshing two plays that don't really go together, not a fan of classics

See it if you are a theater nerd. You love anything meta. You love old text in new contexts.

Don't see it if You are easily confused. You hated either Romeo and Juliet or uncle Vanya.

See it if You like mash-ups. It did nothing to illuminate either play, however.

Don't see it if You don't like either of the plays, or you like either of the plays. Bedlam sometimes does not expand beyond the basic concept.

See it if you don't know both original plays and believe that a fuzzy rewrite will improve something that doesn't need improvement

Don't see it if you like plays that make sense

Also there is nothing wrong with experimenting, but this re-write makes little sense. The actors are truly great, though... Read more Read less

See it if An often brilliant production of Uncle Vany often rudely interrupted by Juliet from R&J. Some gorgeous visuals on almost bare stage.

Don't see it if Not for people who love the classics as written. High levels of pretension that rarely help the story or the production.

See it if You appreciate great acting and experimentation

Don't see it if you don't like alteration in classics

Also Despite the confusion caused by the mashup of the two plays, it was definitely worth seeing. The acting was excellent all around, and the concept and staging were interesting.... Read more Read less

See it if A funny, fast moving mash up of two classsics. Somewhat confusing but never boring. The acting was fantastic!

Don't see it if If you don’t already know both plays fairly well it might be hard to follow.

See it if you are intrigued in an interesting adaptation of uncle vanya, you like bedlam's work, you really like prose and heightened language

Don't see it if you want a clear interpretation of both pieces, you don't care for a strong vision like bedlam usually presents

See it if the acting in the show is superb

Don't see it if you want some sort of connection between Uncle Vanya and Romeo and Juliet, you revere either work, you need zippy pacing

Also I wanted to like this, I really did. And I thought that the actors gave excellent performances, I found myself wishing near the end of Act one that they were just doing Uncle Vanya, because the few insertions of Romeo and Juliet were confusing, abrupt, and rather ruined the mood that the performers had so smartly built up. I would say this is 85% Vanya and a loose 15% R&J. The women in the cast were masterful with their multilayered characters. The set was was well thought out, the lighting very good, but I was not a fan of the costumes, the costume design seemed uneven.
I really wish that it was in fact a splicing of the two plays in some clever way to showcase the depth of human emotion and despair that Chekhov and Shakespeare provide separately, but it didn't quite make it for me.... Read more Read less

See it if You're already familiar with both plays

Don't see it if You're not open to a concept not being fully explored. Acting was a mixed bag but the Vanya/Romeo was a little embarrassing to watch

See it if you like great acting in an intimate setting or are a big fan of Uncle Vanya or Romeo and Juliet.

Don't see it if you're not a fan of the classics or non-linear story telling.

Also The acting was great, but the merging concept was poorly executed. It would have been better to just stick with Uncle Vanya. The addition of the Shakespeare detracted from rather than added to the storyline.... Read more Read less

See it if If you're a fan of innovation, have a sense of humor and like to laugh out loud at people's peculiar antics, at least in the first act

Don't see it if If you don't like a mixture of Chekov and Shakespeare this is not for you.

Also I loved the first act which was mostly Vanya, but I found the second act was too much Juliet. The Vanya parts couldn't have been better. All the actors were superb... Read more Read less

See it if You are a Bedlam fan and will follow them through thick and thin.

Don't see it if You don't know UNCLE VANYA and ROMEO AND JULIET really, really well.

Also Although I've loved Bedlam productions in the past, this one never came together for me. There are brilliant scenes and the actors and direction are solid. A couple of times the mash-up is revelatory, but for the most part I wanted to be watching Bedlam's UNCLE VANYA, or their take on R&J. It's not the disaster their PETER PAN was, but it feels very self-indulgent. Someone who didn't know VANYA well would be completely lost.... Read more Read less

See it if You are fascinated by the parallels between these 2 classic plays and want to experience some top notch classical acting.

Don't see it if You are unfamiliar with these 2 plays or don't have a lot of patience to make the links.

See it if You are interested in the new perspectives that come from comparing and contrasting great works of romantic tragedy.

Don't see it if You are not already familiar with either play - especially Romeo & Juliet, as the interspersed scenes are tangential to primary plot line.

See it if you like experimental theater. If you like the play Uncle Vanya. The characters turn into R & J characters in interesting ways sometimes.

Don't see it if you want to see something light and fluffy. I love the risks Bedlam takes but the R & J death/crying scene felt unearned and LONG.

See it if you love the classics, especially redone; you are familiar with one or both source texts; you like to think deeply at the theatre

Don't see it if you primarily want a fun night out, you don't have a background in theatre, you don't know either play well or at all

See it if You like interesting, ambitious shows that just don't quite work. Very talented company, the Vanya half is great, but R&J part didn't work

Don't see it if You don't want to sit thru a promising first act of a show for the wheels to come off in an overly long second act.

See it if You're curious about deconstructive takes on classic material, love Bedlam's way of really owning the language & their particular aesthetic.

Don't see it if You get triggered by ideas that are primarily clever and just wish this amazing company had done the 2 pieces in rep instead of mashing them

Also Where the two pieces really amalgamate is the passion in its most great and desperate form. But that is the most general common denominator. The specificity of Vanya and R&J lie somewhere else, and that's why we have two pieces, not just one. To me the mix felt reductive. But even here - it's an amazing company at work, very smart and insightful.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy adventurous, ambitious theater even if it's a failure at the end of the day.

Don't see it if you hate to see the classics mangled in a cavalier way by a troupe of ordinarily good actors (based on past work).

Also The mashup of Chekhov and Shakespeare sounded like an ambitious undertaking from the get-go and unfortunately this company created what its name implies from the combination: Bedlam. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet definitely gets short shrift here with just the barest outline of the plot visible in this combo platter. Chekhov must have been wincing at this very contemporary "translation" of his masterful Uncle Vanya, making these Russians whine even more than usual. A good cast of actors, Bedlam regulars, were largely wasted in this production and, even worse, they seemed not to know their lines through parts of the plays, dropping them right and left during the R&J portions. But saddest of all was hearing -- well, not hearing -- some of the Bard's most beautiful verse because it was being shouted over simultaneous dialogue from Vanya. Sad news for both playwrights, mercifully dead, sadder news for the audience who had to endure it all.... Read more Read less

See it if you really like Bedlam

Don't see it if you like coherent, linear storytelling.

See it if You're familiar with the source texts, love Chekhov/Shakespeare, are interested in works that re-imagine the classics.

Don't see it if You hate everything about Chekhov/Shakespeare, and you're unable to sit through a 2.5 hour play.