Kit and Rachel Zegler are in a musical

Review by Adam Feldman for Broadway.

In Act IV of Romeo and Juliet, there is a comic-relief scene that is almost always omitted. The musicians hired for Juliet’s wedding are about to depart when a domestic servant requests a paradoxically joyful dirge: “O play me some merry dump to comfort me.” Juliet’s family has just discovered what they believe to be her dead body. In addition to preserving this scene, Sam Gold’s new Broadway adaptation of the play uses it as a sort of thesis statement. The servant breaks off for a brief moment and insists on listening to the depressing 2011 party anthem “We Are Young,” which is performed by the band Fun. He threatens to “fuckin’ fight you if you don’t play it.”. “.”.

One of the few times the show deviates from its 16th-century text is in that final line, which perfectly encapsulates Gold’s aggressively Gen Z interpretation of Shakespeare’s family-feud tragedy. It’s not just that “We Are Young” is modern (like the costumes, sets, and attitudes of this production), or that the selection of this specific song—co-written by pop hitmaker Jack Antonoff, who also wrote three new songs for this production—is representative of the referential postmodernity of the show: similar to the 1996 Baz Luhrmann film, the title is styled as Romeo + Juliet, akin to graffiti on a bathroom stall; its Juliet, Rachel Zegler, is best known for portraying a Juliet-inspired role in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story; its Romeo, Kit Connor, has managed a forbidden-love plot in his Netflix series Heartstopper. Not only that, but the song’s lyrics also convey the sense of burnout and possibility that are inherent in ideas of igniting the world and burning brighter than the sun. Juliet declares, “Take him and cut him out in little stars.”. And he will make the face of heaven so beautiful that everyone will fall in love with the night and stop worshiping the gaudy sun. “.”.

Courtesy of Matthew Murphy, Romeo and Juliet.

More literal than all of that, “We Are Young” feels so appropriate because it is primarily about youth in Romeo and Juliet. Customer Enver Chakartash dresses the cast in jeans, track pants, and crop tops. The nightclubby set, created by the design collective .s, features inflatable furniture and a shopping cart filled with teddy bears. Remember that Juliet is only 13 in this version, and Zegler, despite her beauty and small size, is believable adolescent in her impatience and excitement. (She exhibits the romantic rebellion of a lifelong sheltered person. His short hair, peaches-and-cream complexion, and muscular biceps in sleeveless tops give Connor’s Romeo a sensitive-jock wholesomeness that makes him appear less than fully developed. You’re reminded that he lives close to school when he reflects on the idea that “Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books / But love from love toward school with heavy looks.”. ().

In fact, it appears that there are very few adults in this version of Verona—just queer-fluid kids who are casually vaping, dancing, posing, and carrying borgs. The conflicting Montague and Capulet families in Gold’s adaptation are almost entirely teenagers, with Michael Sexton and Ayanna Thompson serving as dramaturgs and text consultants. Both Romeo’s parents and the Prince have been entirely removed from the play, with parts of their dialogue relegated to younger characters. The Prince bears some of the blame for the tragic conclusion of the story because he failed to put an end to the interfamily strife in his city. Sola Fadiran, who plays Juliet’s parents, is also an actor who plays multiple roles, with varying degrees of success. Gían Pérez skillfully portrays Romeo’s rival Paris as a kind man with a sinister side, but it’s not always obvious which of his three characters is which. Gabby Beans, who is convincing as the well-meaning Friar Lawrence, falls short as a strutting Mercutio. Tommy Dorfman plays the sultry Nurse, who fans her fanny and declares, “I am so vexed that every part about me quivers.” However, he is not scary enough to play Tybalt.

Romeo and Juliet | Photo: Matthew Murphy.

Part of the reason Romeo and Juliet stand out in this production is that their surroundings are frequently blurry. There are a few moments of scenic beauty, such as a floor that folds up into a bed of flowers, a giant teddy bear in which the methed-out Apothecary conceals his most deadly toxins, and a bed that floats from the ceiling, on which Connor performs a pull-up. Other than some amorous verse from the star-crossed stars, what you’re likely to remember are Antonoff’s songs—it makes sense that Romeo would fall in love with Juliet when he sees her singing onstage with the charm of a pop idol.

Gold’s in-the-round staging creates a hermetic atmosphere while making dynamic use of side spaces, such as the aisles and the catwalk above the stage. Beyond this Instagrammable party area, there isn’t much of a Verona or its regulations. And in the end, that weakens the play, in my opinion; it highlights how Romeo and Juliet’s fate was influenced by sheer bad luck and takes away from the main idea. I believe this production will be successful in its admirable goal of appealing to TikTok audiences who are unfamiliar with the play. The sad story of two kind children who perish due to a lack of adult supervision, however, may surprise those newcomers who initially believed it to be a tragedy about young people crushed by social constraints.

Juliet and Romeo. Theater Circle in the sq\. (Broadway). written by William Shakespeare. The director is Sam Gold. Alongside Sola Fadiran, Gían Pérez, Tommy Dorfman, Rachel Zegler, Gabby Beans, and Kit Connor. It runs for two hours and thirty minutes. A single intermission.

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Romeo and Juliet | Image: Matthew Murphy courtesy.