Rachel Zegler & Kit Connor-led ROMEO + JULIET Previews- Page 2

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 1:31pm

JasonC3 said: "Having seen minimal productions before, I think the text lends itself to those interpretations and don't remember feeling shortchanged at all."

Historically, wouldn't have Shakespeare's plays have been staged "mininally" at the time?

[JasonC3]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 1:34pm

KevinKlawitter said: "JasonC3 said: "Having seen minimal productions before, I think the text lends itself to those interpretations and don't remember feeling shortchanged at all."

Historically, wouldn't have Shakespeare's plays have been staged "mininally"at the time?"

I suppose it depends on one's impression of hundreds of candles lighting the stage :)

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 1:52pm

A few people posted dress rehearsal thoughts here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Broadway/comments/1fpl4kw/anyone_rj_invited_dress/

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 2:53pm

“brat coded”…interesting.  A bit curious that a guy in his mid-40s would use that as his inspiration, but I love me some Charli so I’m in. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 3:05pm

"Brat" came out in June, so it's safe to assume it had little or nothing to do with Sam Gold's concept for the show, which already had a clear marketing design when in was announced in April.

Updated On: 9/26/24 at 03:05 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 3:41pm

TaffyDavenport said: ""Brat" came out in June, so it's safe to assumeit had little or nothing to do with Jamie Lloyd's concept for the show, which already had a clear marketing designwhen in was announced in April."

This is Sam Gold's show ;)  And yes, I'm sure the general concept was there but things can find new meaning in rehearsals etc so I wouldn't rule it out as being a factor.  That said, I was surprised to find how many people were commenting on how raunchy it was because I always thought the original text was already fairly raunchy and maybe people just didn't realize that.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 4:13pm

chrishuyen said: " I was surprised to find how many people were commenting on how raunchy it was because I always thought the original text was already fairly raunchy and maybe people just didn't realize that."

 

Most people's experience is reading it in what? 9th grade? Sexuality is always toned down in school.  You should have seen faces when we once did a pretty true to intent Taming of the Shrew!   Reminder: parents have no trouble with their kids learning about violence, but sex?  Woah, Nellie.

 

[inception]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 4:18pm

IdinaBellFoster said: "It’s fully staged in the round so I’m unsure what some of you were expecting from the scenic design."

They posted photos a couple weeks ago from their rehearsals where the actors were looking intently at a maquette of the stage (hidden from view in the photo) which gave the impression that it would be something really cool.  Obviously just marketing bs.

Updated On: 9/26/24 at 04:18 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 5:00pm

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/broadway-romeo-juliet-rachel-zegler-kit-connor-first-look


Photos by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Updated On: 9/26/24 at 05:00 PM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 5:17pm

TaffyDavenport said: ""Brat" came out in June, so it's safe to assumeit had little or nothing to do with Sam Gold's concept for the show, which already had a clear marketing designwhen in was announced in April."

...such a demure response.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 6:56pm

As listed on Telecharge, the runtime is 2:25 with a 10-minute intermission, but it also says that is "subject to change."

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 8:06pm

I think there is still room for some really cool directorial choices. I feel like Gold chose Circle for a reason or else they’d have put this in a bigger house to make even more money. 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 8:32pm

Hoping to hear reports of some interesting choices, because like Our Town, there isnt much left for me to enjoy in seeing R&J again (these leads seem plenty attractive but neither are going to get me into a theater), and Gold is way more miss than hit for me. I fear the "new" concept will be a diverse, gender-bent cast, which I'm all for in theory but certainly isnt going to in and of itself make a play i first read in 7th grade all that interesting.

but lets see what yall have to say. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 11:44pm

How was it?

I’m also curious to hear how Antonoff’s music is for this… is it similar to his Bleachers and/or fun. material?

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 12:02am

I'm worn out so I won't go too deep into detail.

Now, I love Romeo and Juliet. It's one of my favorite stories of all time. I've loved the movie adaptations, the opera, the ballet, theatrical adaptions, and I champion, and have at many times enjoyed, the attempts at bringing the story into the modern world with artistic visions meant to reach the current generation of young people.

That said, I thought this production (which is 100% aimed at Gen Z) was atrocious. The one bright spot was Kit Connor, who I thought was absolutely extraordinary in his portrayal of Romeo. I thought he was breathtaking and gave such a committed performance filled with soul and heart. The rest of the cast gave serviceable performances, but the problem is that, again aside from Connor, no one seemed to have a strong emotional connection to anything they were saying. And for that I blame Sam Gold, who I have no idea what his intention was with this production.

The tone was all over the place, the staging was laughable at times, with awkward character choices, lacking any emotional depth and it seems as though the themes of the play were merely an afterthought. Plug in two random pop songs in Act One that add absolutely nothing to the proceedings and you get a truly inept production which was devoid of innovation, and at times seemed to have a total lack of respect for the material.

Will it speak to Gen Z? Who knows, but as a millennial, I couldn't tell you what this production was trying to say.

Updated On: 9/27/24 at 12:02 AM

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 12:09am

Out of curiosity, have there been any other major productions where the actor playing Romeo is younger than the actor playing Juliet? It’s only a 3 year difference and certainly not noticeable, it just occurred to me that Romeo’s usually cast as the older of the two.

[ElizaSchuyler]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 12:37am

I can't say I'm surprised about Kit Connor being the stand-out. It was the same on that Heartstopper show. Kid is meant for great things.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 3:05am

If its not noticeable (their age difference), then it doesn't matter. 

 

 

Kit Connor is the reason I bought Tix...I dont dislike her, but she wasn't a strong enough reason.

Updated On: 9/27/24 at 03:05 AM

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 3:48am

dramamama611 said: "If its not noticeable (their age difference), then it doesn't matter."

Well it matters to me because I think it’s an interesting exception to the usual casting dynamic and I can’t think of another major production where it’s been the case

[FLarnhill]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 5:18am

NOWaWarning said: "Out of curiosity, have there been any other major productions where the actor playing Romeo is younger than the actor playing Juliet? It’s only a 3 year difference and certainly not noticeable, it just occurred to me that Romeo’s usually cast as the older of the two."

June Carter was 3 years older than Johnny Cash and nobody gave a damn.

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 8:09am

Because Romeo is older. It's in the text that way. 

But I agree that it probably doesn't matter that much if the production is not leaning into that. 

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 8:37am

Someone posted like a ten second video clip and of the curtain call and I was like, no, absolutely not. I'm sure it's fine for kids but I'm not one.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 9:04am

NOWaWarning said: "dramamama611 said: "If its not noticeable (their age difference), then it doesn't matter."

Well it matters to me because I think it’s an interesting exception to the usual casting dynamic and I can’t think of another major production where it’s been the case"

….knowing the age of two actors that don’t have any physical attributes that would contribute to the perception of an age difference affects how you consume a piece where they’re playing characters in generally the same age bracket? I hate to break it to you but I think you’re doing this wrong.

[MusicalGuy3]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 10:13am

Sadly, this did not work for me.  I am glad Shakespeare is not alive to see this bastardization of his work.   It felt to me like an attempt to be edgy and modern without any direction or emotional core. Honestly felt like a long awkward SNL skit, with the exception of Kit's work, which is a ray of light in the apocalypse.

[AKarp2013]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 10:44am

Some more thoughts (it's tough because I want so desperately to forget what I saw last night). For what it's worth, it was a full house but a good chunk of seats were left empty upon return for Act Two.

It was tough to gauge exactly what the audience's reception was last night. I'd say the vast majority of the crowd were Rachel Zegler fans who were hooting, hollering, shouting, and laughing throughout as though it were a parody production (no disrespect to parody productions). This was Act One only, however. Act Two is a different story. During the second act, everyone seemed bored -- checking the time, fidgeting, twisting in their seats, etc.

This, I would say, is attributed to Gold's bizarre and inconsistent tonal shift. Act One is filled with club music, played for (way too many) laughs, and felt like a string of TikTok's stitched together. Act Two is where Gold decides to turn serious with a pathetically desperate attempt at being dark. At many times, it felt as though he had no idea what to do with the cast so he had them do literally anything to make them noticeable -- lying down around the stage at awkward times, holding up the bed as Romeo and Juliet have their intimate moments, peering from the foot of the stage watching the action unfold.

The moment that made me cringe, roll my eyes, and want to scream the most was immediately following Juliet's death scene where Gold has the character of Paris have a comedic banter with the DJ/music director, attempting to have her play upbeat music, and when she refuses, he gets the audience to sing/clap to "We Are Young" by fun. before storming off the stage as though he were having a temper tantrum. I wanted so desperately to walk out then and there but I was determined to see this abomination through to the end.

Updated On: 9/27/24 at 10:44 AM