Tybalt, Prince of Cats, King of Destruction

I had the distinct pleasure of being cast as Tybalt in a production of Romeo and Juliet, so Prince of Cats was a welcome change of pace for an interpretation of the tale of star crossed lovers. Setting it in 80's brooklyn seems like a no-brainer, but the audacity to focus it on an otherwise tragic supporting lead whose number is called before Act 3 ends. Rosalyn's tale didnt quite grab me as Tybalt's but that may just be bias.
Many productions that leave the script in it's original Renaissance Italy do not take the time for a psychological study. Much focus is left on the beauty of the piece and the tragedy of the words. Spinning off from that, you've got modern interpretations that go out of their way to put the words second and really get into the nitty gritty of the character's psyche. Sometimes the families are separated by class, in case of Prince of Cats it is race.
I remember the production I was involved in consisted of a timelessness. The show was pretty to look at, but one could not quite pin down the exact time or place of our otherworldly Verona. Echoes of the industrial era, peppered with a bit of the Renaissance, and a dash of the Medieval. Here the conflict was escalated to simple human emotions. I approached the role so that Tybalt's rage and inability to love were simply a product of his upbringing. The boy had been groomed from birth to be a violent angry machine bent on maintaining the honor of his family name and the destruction of his enemies. His blindness to humanity is what etched his downfall in our production.
It is astounding to see where the characters of the piece keep going with each and every reinterpretation. As the world changes, so will the way we see Shakespeare's characters, not just the title leads, but the countless souls that inhabit their worlds. Friends and Foes alike.