Wherefore art thou, Juliet?
That’s the question you might be asking sometime during Broadway’s most recent foray into bringing Shakespeare to the masses who can afford really expensive tickets. And the latest Bard venture is a hot hot ticket. “Romeo + Juliet” opened Thursday at the Circle in the Square, which, despite being Broadway’s smallest theater, saw over a $1 million gross last week for Sam Gold’s feisty new production of this vintage romantic tragedy.
Gold’s last two excursions with Shakespeare on Broadway did not fare so well despite “King Lear” starring Glenda Jackson and “Macbeth” starring Daniel Craig. Far more memorable were his revelatory productions of “Hamlet” with Oscar Isaac at the Public Theater and “Othello” with Craig and David Oeylowoh at the New York Theater Workshop. Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” is more kinky than revelatory. It’s a very digestible two hours and 10 minutes with intermission, and spliced between all the soliloquies are fight scenes that are thrillingly choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, who even throws in some breakdancing. There’s also a credit that reads “violence by Drew Leary.”
If you’re worried by that plus sign (+) in the title, Gold has not lifted from Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 “Romeo + Juliet” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Those lovers were young. Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler in Gold’s production are children, and the set design, by Dots, features a playroom full of cuddly stuffed animals, some of which are gigantic. Immensely effective is Gold’s use of the entire Circle in the Square. I’d never before been aware of this theater’s many catwalks above the stage. Now they’re alive with Verona’s adolescents. Or maybe they’re from the Bronx.
Kit Connor of “Heartstopper” fame mesmerizes as Romeo, and the many young women in the audience, as well as maybe one or two old men, squeal with delight when he kisses Zegler. Those squeals turn deafening when, with awesome artistry, he rips off his very superfluous T-shirt. The half-modern, half-antique costumes are by Enver Chakartash. Oh yes, Connor handles Shakespeare’s poetry with real distinction, too.
Rachel Zegler of “West Side Story” fame isn’t quite so comfortable with the iambic pentameter. Before anyone gets the idea this critique against Zegler derives from her sounding American to Connor’s very British delivery, it’s nice to report that other Yankees in the cast have no problem making the poetry accessible to 21 Century ears. They include Gabby Beans playing Mercutio and the Friar, Tommy Dorfman playing Tybalt and the Nurse, and Sola Fadiran playing Juliet’s mother and father.
Once upon a time a few years ago in the theater, it was the actors who worked hard to make us believe they were the characters we’re watching. Nowadays, it’s the audience that must work hard to believe that, for instance, a young Black female actor is an old Roman Catholic member of the Italian clergy in the 14th Century (or whenever this story is set). Gold makes no consideration for a role’s age, ethnicity and gender. Beans, Dorfman and Fadiran make that irreverence part of the fun, and along the way they handle the language beautifully. That said, I wasn’t always sure which characters they were playing, but eventually I caught up to them.
Zegler only really comes alive as Juliet when she sings two songs by Grammy Awarda winner Jack Antonoff. One comes during the masked ball where she meets Romeo, and Zegler sings again before the two of them finally get around to screwing.
As Gold tells this story, theirs is a puppy love. Perhaps that’s the big revelation of this “Romeo + Juliet.” The kids aren’t all right, and if their story is not really a full-blown tragedy anymore, they’re awfully fun to watch.
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