Shakespeare gets a Gen Z makeover in the newest revival of his most beloved tragedy. Romeo + Juliet is back on Broadway in a production helmed by Tony winner Sam Gold and starring Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor.
The youth are f**ked. Left to their own devices in their parents’ world of violent ends, an impulsive pair of star-crossed lovers hurtle towards their inescapable fate. The intoxicating high of passion quickly descends into a brutal chaos that can only end one way. In this version of the classic, Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy now belongs to a new generation on the edge.
This production of Romeo + Juliet is even more special, because though it is not a musical, it features music by Grammy Award winner Jack Antonoff and movement direction and choreography by Tony Award winner Sonya Tayeh. The song "Man of the House," performed by Zegler, has been released as a single.
Romeo and Juliet, one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, is a timeless tragedy that explores the intense and destructive power of love. Set in Verona, the story revolves around two young lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, whose families are locked in a bitter feud. Despite the hostility between their houses, Romeo and Juliet fall deeply in love and secretly marry. Their romance is marked by passion, impulsiveness, and defiance of social norms, which ultimately leads to devastating consequences.
The play delves into themes of fate, choice, and the destructiveness of hatred. The concept of "star-crossed lovers" underscores the inevitability of Romeo and Juliet’s doomed love, as their efforts to escape their families’ animosity lead to a series of misunderstandings and tragic events. The play has enduring relevance as a commentary on youthful passion, family dynamics, and the societal constraints that shape human relationships. Its blend of romance, drama, and universal themes ensures its place as one of the most studied and performed works in literary history.
Romeo and Juliet has not been seen on Broadway since a 2013 revival starring Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad. Other duos to play the star-crossed lovers onstage include Lauren Ambrose and Oscar Isaac, Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor, and Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers.
As the lovers hurtle toward their deaths, the already-speedy production gains more steam. (Romeo’s fatal encounter with Paris goes by the wayside.) As a result the ending feels abrupt—wait, the party’s over, and everyone’s dead? This may in part be why Mr. Gold doesn’t succeed in making us feel the awe and horror, the sense of waste, we should at the mischances that result in the deaths of the lovers. But at least it lets Mr. Connor and Ms. Zegler out at a reasonable hour to greet the hundreds of fans waiting for them after the performance. While this isn’t the most subtle or emotionally resonant “Romeo and Juliet,” it is unquestionably bringing enthusiastic younger audiences to the theater, in itself a worthy and impressive achievement.
It’s a little slick, though, at least for seen-that adults. The play’s twisty language, expressive of twisty thoughts, is largely untangled but, in the process, flattened. (Gold’s edit brings the running time, not counting intermission, to “the two hours’ traffic of the stage” Shakespeare mentions, but some of that traffic is stop-and-go.) I smiled a lot but never came close to crying.
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| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
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| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Fight Choreography | Drew Leary |
| 2025 | Drama League Awards | DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE | Kit Connor |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Play | Kit Connor |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Romeo + Juliet |
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