---

PAWTUCKET - In a company known for gambles, Shakespeare is a safe bet. Double Shakespeare, however, might be pushing it a little bit.

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre is feting its 25th anniversary with a double dose of the Bard. The season opener, "Much Ado About Nothing" was brilliant, almost too brilliant. The follow-up, the tragic love story of "Romeo and Juliet," is much less so.

On stage now - and set to run concurrently in repertory next month - "Romeo and Juliet" is the classic tale of idealistic young love, the kind of tempestuous emotion that leaves one feeling as if death were better than life without love.

Perhaps that is the problem - "Romeo and Juliet" is dark, where "Much Ado" is light-hearted and comedic. It is easy to be submerged in each storyline, but laughing is a much more comfortable emotion than anxiety.

There is much to be anxious about in Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet, teenagers from warring families in Verona who defy their fathers and marry secretly. When Romeo is banished from the city for killing Juliet's cousin in a street fight, her father forbids her from seeing him and arranges her marriage to a man he finds more suitable. Juliet fakes her demise to avoid this marriage, but Romeo, believing she is dead, drinks poison and dies. The realistic and bloody fight scenes and heightened emotions among the families, particularly Juliet's, put a strain on the entire room.

But it is more than the downbeat of a storyline that keeps this production off-kilter. Some performances are superb, others are too forced and phony. The latter cast an irreparable pall.

Tom Gleadow is again a powerful force on the stage as Lord Capulet, Juliet's father. In the second act, when he discovers that his daughter dares to defy his wishes that she marry the man he has chosen for her, he is enraged and his monologue rattles with raw anger as he calls his daughter "a wretched creature" whose birth was regrettable. Gleadow's well of emotions is deep and his mesmerizing performances are the result.

Kelby Akin, who made his Gamm debut in "Much Ado," makes more of a mark as Mercutio, a saucy servant in Romeo's home. He is racy and fun-loving, kissing both women and men in his ramblings, but it is while Mercutio lay dying that Akin's ability is truly visible. Stabbed in a fight, Mercutio drags himself across the stage slowly and dramatically, putting a curse on both the Capulet and Montague homes with his last breath. Akin's efforts create a magnificent moment.

Other key parts add to the lackluster quality of the production.

Amanda Ruggiero, whose role in "Much Ado" was small, is given the chance to shine as Juliet. Instead, her performance has moments of promise, when she truly manages to infuse a girlish enthusiasm into Juliet, but too many other moments are forced and contrived.

Too often, her lines are recited woodenly. Her tears are not genuine, which is distracting.

Some Gamm veterans have small parts in "Romeo and Juliet," but fall short in their performance. Sam Babbitt, who plays the Prince of Verona, delivers his lines as if he were reciting them in English class. They lack the usual verve he throws into every role. Jim O'Brien as Friar Lawrence, who marries the two young lovers, typically commands the stage but is forgettable this time around.

"Romeo and Juliet" is a beautiful story and there is enough Gamm talent in this production to render it enjoyable. It may, however, fare better on its own than when contrasted with "Much Ado About Nothing" when the repertory productions begin. There really is no comparison.

"Romeo and Juliet" runs through Nov. 15 at the Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets are $24-$40. Call 401-723-4266 or visit gammtheatre.org.