By Abigail Holliday
Staff Writer
From rave music to smoking weed on stage, Broadway’s “Romeo + Juliet” has accurately embodied the chaos of adolescence while still giving a beautiful rendition of Shakespeare’s classic love story.
The show tells the story of two star-crossed lovers as they navigate a world of hate and restriction. It debuted on Broadway on Sept. 26 and will run for 20 weeks.
Rachel Zegler, known for playing Maria Vasquez in “West Side Story” and Lucy Gray Baird in “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was cast as Juliet Capulet in April, according to the show’s website.
Kit Connor, best known for his role as Nick Nelson in “Heartstopper” and as the voice of Pantalaimon in “His Dark Materials,” was announced to be Romeo Montague after a teaser was posted on April 16.
The music for “Romeo + Juliet” was written by Jack Antonoff, a producer who has written songs for Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Troye Sivan and many others. The show was choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, who has choreographed for Broadway musicals such as “Moulin Rouge!” and “GATSBY.” Two songs written by Antonoff along with beautiful dance and fight scenes by Tayeh only heightened the experience of the play.
The show has been created and directed to cater to today’s youth. Described by director Sam Gold as “Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy now belongs to a new generation on the edge,” this is most obvious through the characters’ “teenager” clothing: tank tops, jean shorts, fur jackets, corsets and a pink cropped shirt.
The show opens with all of the actors on stage smoking, dancing and grinding to rave music. The characters are very interactive with the actors running through the aisles, arguing with the DJ, and even Romeo borrowing an audience member’s chair to use it as a boost to passionately kiss Juliet.
The stage is a black circle that, when the scene requires it, has a middle piece that would flip upside down to reveal hundreds of flowers on the floor. When it comes time for Juliet’s balcony scenes, there is a suspended bed that would lower and rise with her on it.
The show is a beautiful portrayal of “Romeo and Juliet,” really emphasizing the young, teenage aspect of the characters and how their experiences are relevant today. This modern take on Shakespeare’s play ensures that it stands out from the other shows on Broadway.
The slogan that this play has adopted onto its marketing, “The Youth Are F*cked,” ties into Gold’s vision. He said in a statement, “With the presidential election coming up in November, I felt like making a show this fall that celebrates youth and hope, and unleashes the anger young people feel about the world they are inheriting,” according to Playbill.
