Tybalt's Ghost
It amazes me that, of the thirty-odd productions I���ve been a part of and the dozen more I���ve seen, I���m the only director to make use of these lines from Juliet:������
O, look! methinks I see my cousin���s ghost ���
Seeking out Romeo, that did spit his body ���
Upon a rapier���s point: stay, Tybalt, stay! ���
Romeo, I come! this do I drink to thee.������
She says she sees the ghost! I cannot fathom why directors ignore this. She straight up says that she sees the ghost!
It seems a wonderful (and obvious) device to have dead Tybalt enter, covered ���all in blood, all in gore blood��� as the Nurse describes him, and search for Romeo. It is also great motivation for Juliet to drink the Friar���s potion, which until that moment she has been talking herself out of doing. I���ve used this twice, and it���s frightfully creepy.
Yet I���ve only ever seen the ghost in my own productions. So perhaps I am simply insane. But I think this is one of the most powerful points in the show. The creators of West Side Story surely thought so ��� they staged an entire dream ballet around it.
Charles Dvorak and Stephanie VanAlstine
