A tragically beautiful story of forbidden lovers, Perry Hall High School’s “Romeo and Juliet’ was a heartfelt performance of a truly iconic play.

“Romeo and Juliet,” one of Shakespeare’s most notorious works, was written in 1594. It tells the story of two teens and their rival families, the Montagues and the Capulets. The two end up falling in love, against their family’s hatred for one another. In finding out that Juliet has “died,” though she was just in a drug-induced coma, Romeo poisons himself. When Juilet awakens from her sleep, she learns of Romeo’s death and stabs herself. The lovers give their lives for each other, yet can never truly be together.

Perry Hall’s rendition of “Romeo and Juliet” was tragic, heartfelt, and emotional, yet comedic and energetic. Their cast had the audience constantly engaged. The actors and the tech, including the beautiful window special effects, the isolation lighting, and the impressive set, were all crucial in bringing the show to life.

Romeo, played by Nicholas Hamilton, and Juliet, played by Taylor Fruhling, had beautiful and undeniable chemistry, and made the audience fully sympathize with their heart-wrenching story. Hamilton was highly energetic and constantly captured the audience’s eye, and Fruhling’s swoon and emotion allowed her to perfectly portray her character.

Eva Heier as Mercutio shined on stage, bringing laughter and energy to every scene. Heier constantly had the audience buckled over laughing. She and Elizabeth Mende as Benvolio bounced off each other wonderfully and had a chemistry which added a comedic flare to the show. Each member of the cast was able to accurately portray the tough Shakespearean language, which is no small feat. The ensemble was full of energy and life and were fully devoted to their characters.

The set, constructed by the Perry Hall Techies, was gorgeously made with the two rival families’ homes, a staircase to a balcony, and hanging drapes of flowers. The set wonderfully depicted the Verona setting, aided by the specially effects of the windows. The special effects, done by Nathan Craft, used PowerPoint images through windows to depict time of day and to represent the colors of each family. During scenes of the Capulets, the windows were red, while the Montagues were blue, and the morning sunrise shone through during the morning. The lighting, by Mariana Cardona and Elise Click, were also very well done, with appropriate isolation lighting for each scene.

Perry Hall’s “Romeo and Juliet” was beautifully delivered and certainly left the audience in awe.