chrishuyen said: "I don't disagree with the NYT review, and I was surprised at how...magnanimous? Jesse Green was in mostly allowing for the fact that the primary purpose of this was to get younger theater goers more interested in Shakespeare. Similar for the Guardian review--they were also spot on with how Shakespeare's verse could feel a bit clumsy in most of the cast with the exception of Kit Connor."
FLarnhill said: "chrishuyen said: "I don't disagree with the NYT review, and I was surprised at how...magnanimous? Jesse Green was in mostly allowing for the fact that the primary purpose of this was to get younger theater goers more interested in Shakespeare. Similar for the Guardian review--they were also spot on with how Shakespeare's verse could feel a bit clumsy in most of the cast with the exception of Kit Connor."
Do people still care what Jesse Green has to say?"
Clearly judging by the general focus on what the NYT review is for every show.
Those negative reviews gotta hurt - even though they are balanced with raves and middling reviews. Definitely seems as thought Kit Connor has easily the best of the notices.
I'm taking my young adult son in 2 weeks, Im guessing we will have very different takes on this. Hoping I find some enjoyment in this, I love Shakespeare, taught R&J for YEARS, and am a fan of Connor's - we shall see!
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
FLarnhill said: "chrishuyen said: "I don't disagree with the NYT review, and I was surprised at how...magnanimous? Jesse Green was in mostly allowing for the fact that the primary purpose of this was to get younger theater goers more interested in Shakespeare. Similar for the Guardian review--they were also spot on with how Shakespeare's verse could feel a bit clumsy in most of the cast with the exception of Kit Connor."
Do people still care what Jesse Green has to say?"
I sure do.
Its part of my whole "listening to people I sometimes/often disagree with" that i wish more people would try.
irritation at Green here is particularly funny because he goes out of his way in this review to say "here are the things you might appreciate even though I did not"-- short of giving the NYT critics page over to a college sophomore with a tiktok account, not sure what more you can want (aside from only reading reviews that reflect your own thoughts).
meanwhile, Holdren at Vulture goes way harsher than Green did, confirming how Not For Me this trainwreck seems to be:
"The fact that Romeo first lays eyes on her not in a mutual moment of revelation, but as she performs a bubbly pop song at the Capulets’ party, means that no miracle occurs between them. Instead, she remains just a cute girl with a microphone and he just another cute guy in the crowd. That feeling of blur and blandness seeps everywhere: Beans is a fantastic actor, but who is her Mercutio, apart from a low voice and minimal costume change from her Friar? Who are any of these people?"
"At the center of the whole trendy, clubby, stuffed-animals-and-inflatable-furniture jumble is, as Cordelia once said to her dad, nothing. One could be forgiven for walking away from this show’s two (and a half) hours’ traffic thinking that maybeRomeo and Julietis kind of mid after all. Such is the enervating effect of so aggressively clickbaity and uncurious a production.""
It's amazing how quickly, within just one year, how Sara Holdren went from being my favorite critic to my most hated!
PipingHotPiccolo said: "FLarnhill said: "chrishuyen said: "I don't disagree with the NYT review, and I was surprised at how...magnanimous? Jesse Green was in mostly allowing for the fact that the primary purpose of this was to get younger theater goers more interested in Shakespeare. Similar for the Guardian review--they were also spot on with how Shakespeare's verse could feel a bit clumsy in most of the cast with the exception of Kit Connor."
Do people still care what Jesse Green has to say?"
I sure do.
Its part of my whole "listening to people I sometimes/often disagree with" that i wish more people would try.
irritation at Green here is particularly funny because he goes out of his way in this review to say "here are the things you might appreciate even though I did not"-- short of giving the NYT critics page over to a college sophomore with a tiktok account, not sure what more you can want (aside from only reading reviews that reflect your own thoughts).
meanwhile, Holdren at Vulture goes way harsher than Green did, confirming how Not For Me this trainwreck seems to be:
"The fact that Romeo first lays eyes on her not in a mutual moment of revelation, but as she performs a bubbly pop song at the Capulets’ party, means that no miracle occurs between them. Instead, she remains just a cute girl with a microphone and he just another cute guy in the crowd. That feeling of blur and blandness seeps everywhere: Beans is a fantastic actor, but whoisher Mercutio, apart from a low voice and minimal costume change from her Friar? Who are any of these people?""
Why would you assume I don't like him because I disagree with him? That's childish. I appreciate he does see what others may like about a play that he didn't, I just don't think he's that great of a critic, even when I agree with him.
When I saw ''Romeo + Juliet,'' that might've been the youngest Broadway audience I've ever seen, full of Gen Zers, and they ate up the show.
And while the play is called ''Romeo + Juliet,'' it's really Romeo's show. Whether it's his British upbringing or stage background, Kit Connor speaks the Shakespeare with such command and clarity that it made him the charismatic highlight among his cast. No wonder he got the lion's share of raves:
The Hollywood Reporter: ''The standout of this cast is Connor, who invests Romeo with such innocence, impetuousness, romantic ecstasy and lacerating sorrow he breaks your heart.''
Entertainment Weekly: ''Connor delivers a star-making performance as the endlessly charming Romeo, imbuing the teen with what can only be described as golden retriever energy. ''
Sam Gold's imaginative staging of the iconic balcony scene also gives Connor and Zegler the show's most memorable and meme-able moment.
Earlier this year, Connor's ''Heartstopper'' co-star, Joe Locke, made his Broadway debut in ''Sweeney Todd.'' And each is a showstopper onstage, too.
Saw the show tonight and as we walked in to get our tickets scanned there were two people who thought they had tickets to R+J but really had tickets to &Juliet. I asked the ticket scanner if it’s happened before and he said surprisingly not!
Great show by the way. Really enjoyed it and the cast was strong.
Do a search on the Broadway Reddit. A few weeks agobsomebody posted the seating chart with best locations for the balcony scene or interactions with Mr Conner.
Tomorrow night's Colbert (Tuesday, October 29) is scheduled to have a performance from Rachel Zegler and Jack Antonoff, featuring the cast of “Romeo + Juliet."
''The Late Show's'' Stephen Colbert welcomes the Broadway cast of ''Romeo'' ... & Juliet (aka Rachel Zegler) sings ''Man of the House'' (by Jack Antonoff) from the show
Wayman_Wong said: "The Hollywood Reporter: ''The standout of this cast is Connor, who invests Romeo with such innocence, impetuousness, romantic ecstasy and lacerating sorrow he breaks your heart.''"
I would argue the standouts are more specifically Rachel's singing and Kit's upper body strength.
Regarding the question about run time, I saw the matinee today and factoring in the Broadway Cares plea, didn't get out of the 2pm show until 4:40PM.