Romeo + Juliet marketing...? F**ked?

[JayVenclaw]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 8:14pm

Just got a marketing/merchandise email from the production (or the merch shop) and they're going with 'The Youth Is F*CKed"? There is a pin set that has 2 pins that just say "F*CKed" in different fonts (wonder if I could pin-trade that at Disney, lol) and a pink teddy bear wearing a shirt that just says 'F**ked.'

I've been in professional entertainment for 25+ years, and I understand when a show wants to disrupt the market with aggressive messaging but please, someone, who gets to see the production, give me some context. IMO... most of the merch kinda gives me impressions of a Cinemax late-night softcore porn show. 

If their demographic is a newer/younger audience, I can't imagine parents being thrilled to see that when going into what the parents may expect to be a Shakespeare work. I could be completely off here and I'm not offended, I just have no idea how THIS became their tagline. LOL. Looking forward to your responses!

[greensgreens]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 8:59pm

I love it. Anything to get people talking is a winner!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/26/24 at 9:19pm

Soft core porn?   Really?   It doesn't say they ARE f**king, but they are f**ked. Very different.  

 

They are their parents' children.  Our biggest influence, our biggest teachers.  Parents attitudes, beliefs and ideals are passed on - for better or for worse.

[inception]

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

It's because they have no ideas except to try & be shocking.  Did they just go into a Hot Topic to find what's cool?

[IdinaBellFoster]

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

You sound like a blast at parties.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 7:17am

I understand it completely. The youth is fcked. Every generation probably feels that to some degree in their teenage years, but for the youth of today it is really true. What will the world be like 80 years from now? Climate change. Collapse of democracy. Inflation. War. Alternative facts. Etc.

Most of all it’s probably just a way to distance the show from the perception of it being a dusty old medieval text that’s taught in schools.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 7:51am

Jay Lerner-Z said: "I understand it completely. The youthisfcked. Every generation probably feels that to some degree in their teenage years, but for the youth of today it is really true. What will the world be like 80 years from now? Climate change. Collapse of democracy. Inflation. War. Alternative facts. Etc.

How's the WiFi in your doomsday bunker?
Good upload speeds?

Updated On: 9/27/24 at 07:51 AM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 8:33am

arguably vulgar, not because of the profanity but because it's obvious, i.e, re: the story, way too on the nose too be witty, impactful or even provocative.

[BroadwayNYC2]

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

Do you know what soft core porn is or 

[Plannietink08]

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

JayVenclaw said: "if their demographic is a newer/younger audience, I can't imagine parents being thrilled to see that when going into what the parentsmay expect to be a Shakespeare work. I could be completely off here and I'm not offended, I just have no ideahow THIS became their tagline. LOL. Looking forward to your responses!"

As opposed to the gang violence, stabbing, drug use, suicide, abuse, underage sex, child marriage, etc, that has been a huge part of the show for 400 years. But the word “f*ck” is where they draw the line? 
 

Okay then. 

Updated On: 9/27/24 at 09:37 AM

[JayVenclaw]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 11:01am

Haha. I am loving these responses! Keep going everyone! Pretty sure I just asked for context between the merch and the production but thank you everyone for your input.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 11:24am

This is only tangentially related, but your comment made me think of a Spring Awakening magnet I have showing the beginning of the sex scene (i.e. the image on the cover of the cast album) with the words "TOTALLY F*CKED" (no asterisks) above it in a vaguely comical font. I liked it enough to buy it at the time, and it's still on my refrigerator, but the messaging there seems really questionable in retrospect.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 11:35am

While your original message mentioned merch, you seemed far more concerned with the marketing....so that's what people addressed.   If they are going to use that as a catch phrase/tagline, are you really surprised it would be on merch?

[JayVenclaw]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 11:43am

@kdogg36 - I absolutely get why that magnet appealed to you as a patron as it is pivotal to the tone of how all these kids are feeling and it's also the name of a song fairly early in the show. That's why I was curious if any of these other posters could help connect the dots for me. My Shakespeare may be a bit dusty but R+J do spend the night together, they defy their parents to seek true love and it's not really until the back half they believe the only chance for them to be together is in death. They don't start off suicidal, angsty, yea but not suicidal. The families are the catalysts but to boil R+J's hopes for love down to... "The Youth Is F*CKed," feels like it's cheapening the story, no? 

Again, I respect and appreciate all points of view as it's ART and it's subjective. Looking forward to your thoughts!

[JayVenclaw]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 1:37pm

Nope. Not at all. Just still looking for anyone to give input on how this connects with this production. Thanks for the question! Is the production overly 'edgy' or 'obscene?' It seems from the reports its raw but again, I think the "merch" or "marketing" are boiling the entire experience to one-note. "The Youth..."

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 1:58pm

No it’s nudity nonstop. Insane gore. On stage sex and murder. But the worst part is they had the audacity to say FCUK

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 2:01pm

for what it's worth, I have friends who are solidly Gen Z that had absolutely no interest in seeing any production of Romeo and Juliet until they saw this marketing, so it's working in that sense.  I do think it's similar to Spring Awakening where it taps into the idea of existential rage (and to be fair, Romeo and Juliet has always been a story of how the youth are failed by the adults around them).  I haven't seen the show yet so I can't say how specifically it ties in, but my guess is that it's mostly just marketing that's edgy for the sake of being edgy and trying to drum up interest in a "this isn't your grandma's Shakespeare" kind of way.  

As to your remark about cheapening the story, I think the assumption is that everyone going into the show knows how it ends, so it turns into a feeling of futility despite their hopes and the idea that their deaths are inevitable (I suppose in a way the inverse of what Hadestown does with its story).

[verywellthensigh]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 2:13pm

Absolutely disgusting.  They might as well just put "JULIET'S A SQUIRTER!!" and watch the box office sales soar.

Filth.  Debauched filth. 

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 2:28pm

this play about two horny teenagers who kill themselves is a very PROPER piece of literature and i will NOT have it bemirched by naughty language or befouled by sex

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 2:52pm

verywellthensigh said: "Absolutely disgusting. They might as well just put "JULIET'S A SQUIRTER!!" and watch the box office sales soar.

Filth. Debauched filth."



Girl.

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 2:54pm

verywellthensigh said: "Absolutely disgusting. They might as well just put "JULIET'S A SQUIRTER!!" and watch the box office sales soar.

Filth. Debauched filth."

Jesus Christ. Hahahahahahaha. 

[JayVenclaw]

Posted: 9/27/24 at 6:49pm

Well, this seems to be getting out of hand, lol. @Chrishuyen, excellent point! I genuinely appreciate your view!  :) Still open to hearing additional thoughts from anyone who watches this production and can make intelligent connections or who has serious responses. Have a great night!