“Romeo and Juliet” has been done hundreds and hundreds of times in small and large theaters all over the world, even movie theaters. Now, this classic play has evolved and is reaching the younger generations as Kit Connor, Rachel Zegler and other artists, come together to make “Romeo + Juliet.”
“Romeo and Juliet” (1597) by Shakespeare has been around for centuries, “Romeo + Juliet” (1996) directed by Baz Luhrmann for almost two decades and “Romeo + Juliet” (2024) the play directed by Sam Gold has been around for only a week but its popularity is rising.
The stars of “Romeo + Juliet” are Emmy Award winner Kit Connor and Golden Globe winner Rachel Zegler. After Zegler played “Maria” in “West Side Story” (2021), playing the “Juliet” character wasn’t a challenge. On the other hand, for Connor, this is his first live performance.
Connor’s past gig, “Heartstopper” (2022), is where he seemed to have blown up. The show is a queer heartwarming series directed by Euros Lyn and Andy Newbery, written by Alice Oseman.
From the heartwarming world of “Heartstopper” to the intense drama of “Romeo + Juliet,” Connor’s career is taking exciting new turns.
Tony Award winner, director Gold pitched the play to Zegler as if it was a music video. Gold wanted his version of “Romeo + Juliet” to be new and different. This version of Shakespeare’s play includes modern things such as club lighting, a DJ, some singing and some other edgy content.
If you didn’t already know, “Romeo and Juliet” shouldn’t have singing; it’s a play not a musical.
The music and soundtrack is done by Jack Antonoff, notably known as Taylor Swift’s producer. A song has been publicly released called,”Man Of The House”. The song undoubtedly showcases Zegler’s powerful vocals, the vibe and theme of the show.
There have been preview shows of the play that started on Sept. 24, 2024 from which people have illegally recorded clips and released them to public apps like TikTok. This is obviously creating more and more publicity for the show but Zegler wasn’t too happy about it.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, Zegler acknowledges the leaked clips of the show and addresses how the preview shows are for experimenting; not the final product.
Notorious for their audience interaction, the show is being performed at Circle In The Square Theater, giving a sense of intimacy between the audience and the show’s actors. Microphones are only used in the show for effect, leading to the actors having to really project their voices in the Square.
On “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon”, Connor talks about an interaction with an audience member on where they respond to one of his lines.
There is much to come now that the show has opened on Oct. 24, 2024. So far the show is doing amazing with an extension for the show being announced before the previews. The show will run until Feb. 16, 2025, which was previously scheduled to end a month earlier.
