Romeo & Juliet: A Gen Z Remix That Misses the Mark (But Hey, the Merch is Cute!)
Romeo + Juliet: When Trendy Beats Shakespeare
Sam Gold's new Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet, starring TikTok heartthrobs Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor, promised a bold, modern take. The marketing screamed Gen Z, complete with a color palette straight out of a Charli XCX music video and a title that evokes the iconic Baz Luhrmann film— clearly a smart, savvy attempt to grab younger audiences, many of which may be entirely unaware of Shakespeare and the very source material and its incredibly vast legacy!
The result? A trendy mess. The Circle in the Square Theatre transforms into a chaotic space of inflatable furniture, stuffed animals (seriously, a giant pink teddy bear?), and enough neon lighting to trigger a seizure. This feels entirely designed for Instagram aesthetics instead of exploring Shakespeare. Was Shakespeare even there? Did that even matter to anyone? One has to ask!
A Surface-Level Interpretation: Missing the Deeper Meaning
Sam Gold, the director, spoke about aiming for the theme that we’re “more the same than we are different.” While true—and given the political polarization, some might see it as a needed message of togetherness—this interpretation goes way, way too far. All those characters ended up bland, uninspired, and frankly indistinguishable; everyone looks exactly like someone from Bushwick— no unique social contexts conveyed. And no reason is provided to justify the seemingly strange approach used throughout.
Before the play? The cast hangs out, vaping and drinking from a graffiti-covered jug— clearly designed as another attempt to relate to modern youths and to make use of contemporary references and social settings. Even Gabby Beans (who impressively played multiple roles, including Mercutio, Friar Lawrence, and Prince Escalus) acts as a kind of narrator with her microphone instead of building those different characters; adding this element to generate additional tension between the characters themselves. Those fights feel random; the strange erotic elements completely pointless; the threats are given completely without weight; making most events completely disconnected; this makes those incredibly tense moments become largely meaningless.
Bland Characters and a Lack of Emotional Depth
Sola Fadiran (impressively playing both Lord and Lady Capulet) struggles to provide differentiation in character design; likewise, Tommy Dorfman (who did an exceptional job at performing both Nurse and Tybalt), comes off more like an effort at fashion modeling than actual acting; This demonstrates the obvious shortcomings of character portrayal from several different acting positions.
This lack of individual nuance isn’t helped by several other elements: that confusing set design; making it unclear which individuals exactly might belong together and what the point might actually be. Those moments meant to build upon tension—Zegler's Juliet warning Romeo that his presence alone would cause him death, the nurse telling her daughter of the deadly feud— all lose impact, and no emotional depth remains within those seemingly significant plot points. The musical pieces added by Jack Antonoff, while certainly listenable (and allowing Zegler to showcase her incredible talents as a singer); remain almost entirely disconnected from those intense feelings; ending up instead just serving as an additional plot point to distract audiences from many serious plot points. The intense music adds an eerie effect at points, but most often fails to enhance its meaning or impact. Zegler is impressive, however it isn't her fault, entirely due to poorly executed direction that hampers her very talents and potential.
Kit Connor's Romeo: A Performance of Promise and Missed Opportunities
Kit Connor (Romeo) is arguably one of the strongest actors, understanding that crucial rhythmic quality Shakespeare's language provides, unlike many others who lacked these necessary skills; allowing his words to hit harder; delivering more profound interpretations unlike others who largely missed the necessary subtleties involved.
The other performances; however fall completely flat and the overall experience feels rather forced—a sense entirely demonstrated in many emotionally charged moments; such as that famous, crucial final farewell: His dramatic portrayal of Romeo upon hearing of Juliet's death feels like only half-heartedly thrown out– that lacking of depth and emotional energy is also visible everywhere else: this also impacts most events within those major points throughout the final Stages of the play. This is only reinforced by those rather jarring music pieces provided, the oddly timed slow tempo, underlining many tense emotional points and further depressing the already largely emotionless storyline. No breathless intensity; those kinds of intensely charged plot developments that only occur at this specific climax point completely gone missing.
The "Other" Romeo & Juliet: Drag: The Musical – A Total Hit!
Feeling disappointed with the shallow rendering of Shakespeare’s iconic work? It could be due to certain elements in this modern rendering of Shakespeare! Instead consider something fun: Alaska Thunderfuck’s Drag: The Musical, showing far more fun than that bland Romeo And Juliet.
It nails it— the showmanship, fierce energy, amazing costumes—making that intense feud and sharp banter perfectly emphasized! Even more noteworthy: The incredibly sincere heart at this story's core; a refreshing contrast that totally outshines that Shakespeare version!
Conclusion: Shakespeare’s Fcked, Drag’s Delightful!
Gold’s Romeo and Juliet tries way too hard and the end result feels mostly flat despite featuring many exceptionally capable actors who all failed due to lack of proper direction and execution, those plot decisions lack nuance, ultimately delivering an unsatisfying experience which greatly diminishes those extremely significant points within those emotionally impactful plot moments! While a few strong performances, especially that of Kit Connor do stand out; it ultimately pales against the far superior storytelling choices from Alaska's completely excellent, wonderfully joyful Musical adaptation!
