(Cappies, or the Critics and Awards Program, is in its second season in the Tristate, with 25 high schools taking part. This week: reviews of North College Hill High School's Romeo and Juliet. For more information, see www.cappies.com.)

"Canto alla vita!" Or, "sing to life!" Josh Groban's moving song about taking in all that life has to offer captures the spirit of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet as portrayed recently by the performers of North College Hill High School.

The song served as a theme in this production about two lovers who, with their families feuding, cannot be together and tragically take their own lives, not wanting to live without the other. While timeless, the works of William Shakespeare are nonetheless a major challenge, and the performers handled that challenge with maturity and verve. Heavy with language, and thought, each performer was able to portray a character and tell the story exceptionally well. Zach Mingie (Benvolio) brought life to his character. His expression and presence carried numerous scenes of the production. Anthony Belanger (Tybalt) contributed to the intense hatred of the families with a riveting performance. With every step, syllable and gesture, one felt the hate embedded within this character's heart.

Kevin Day (Mercutio/choreographer) did an excellent job of choreographing some intense, full-out swordfights that also brought a true sense of rivalry and hatred to the story, as well as a heavy dose of excitement and energy to the stage.

Christopher Smyth (Romeo) and Dana Burck (Juliet) developed two strong characters. Christopher had the overly thoughtful, dramatic Romeo down, while Dana did a wonderful job portraying the young, beautiful diva that was Juliet. What the two lacked, however, was chemistry.

The play moved along well, with a good variety of intense and subdued moments. The delivery of lines was, at times, rushed, but all words were heard and the meaning was established.

North College Hill wanted to present a song of life in the form of Romeo and Juliet, and it did just that.

--Aaron Morris,

Sycamore High School

OTHER EXCERPTS:

A few simply painted panels illustrated the minimalism of the set, but this only helped bring more attention to the actors and their character portrayal. The modern music presented at the party scene created a present-day mood. The use of trap doors and curtains as a part of the staging was imaginative. As the tale of two lovers came to a close, the performance seemed to be at its best.

--Miranda Hovemeyer,

Finneytown High School

The fierce fighting scenes found throughout the play brought excitement to the stage and gained the cheers of the audience, especially at one point where the entire stage seemed to be alive in battle. The young Montague gang, Romeo (Christopher Smyth), Mercutio (Kevin Day) and Benvolio (Zach Mingie), had a great chemistry that accented their individual characters, as did Tybalt (Anthony Belanger) and his Capulets, Gregory (Justin Weber) and Sampson (Chris Birkmeyer).

--Ben Burrell,

Cincinnati Christian School

Some of the new and creative ideas of the show attracted attention. The cast delineated the play into a modern-day setting with 21st century costuming and music, and the sets gave the audience a hint as to what they were seeing. For example, they used a rose as the backdrop for Juliet's room and a large cross for the friar's cell. By far, the most gorgeous scene of the show was the tomb where Juliet's and Romeo's deathbeds lay. From the combination of vibrant colors of gold and white to the cascade of light on Juliet's body, there was just the right mood for such a heart-wrenching scene.

--Katie Bruestle,

Fairfield High School