Over the decades, I’ve seen many productions of “Romeo and Juliet,” the classic William Shakespeare tragedy of the love between two teenagers from families at war — the Montagues and the Capulets. However, I have never seen a “Romeo + Juliet” the likes of the production at Circle in the Square Theater on West 50th Street. This is a retelling with a great deal of humor, singing, and a diverse cast of color and orientations — a production as inclusive as you can possibly get.
Throughout this production, the cast had a great time, with a lot of playfulness onstage even before the production officially started. It is quite enjoyable to sit in the theater and watch the actors come on stage, dance to music provided by a DJ and play around, throwing stuffed animals and treats to each other. By the time the story began, you already felt the vibe of getting ready to see something special and something new.
A narrator introduced herself and the characters she would be playing and then proceeded to introduce all the other actors and the characters. Every actor on that stage was absolutely invested in bringing this story together in a very different and incredibly entertaining way. Kit Connor is phenomenal as Romeo. He is funny, sexy, and keeps you mesmerized. He brings all of Romeo’s emotions to the surface and you feel everything — his passion, love, anguish, and despair. Rachel Zegler is stunning as Juliet. She has an amazing singing voice that grabs you and holds on. Her Juliet was amusing, passionate, and sympathetic. The entire ensemble cast brings their A game, as many perform multiple roles but do so very distinctly. Gabby Beans is brilliant as Mercutio/The Friar/Prince. Tommy Dorfman is funny and poignant as Tybalt/The Nurse. Sola Fadiran brings the charm, humor, determination, and anger as Capulet/Lady Capulet. Taheen Modak is memorable as Benvolio/Apothecary. Gian Perez is quite funny in his multiple roles of Samson/Paris/Peter. Daniel Bravo Hernandez is impressive as Abraham/Friar John. Jasai Chase-Owens performs well as Gregory/Servingman and Nihar Duvvuri is good as Balthazar.
Go and experience it for yourself and take someone young with you, so that they can hear Shakespeare’s words and see the beautiful delivery that these thespians bring to the table. They bring humor to lines that were previously not funny, and it just works. This production has amazing music by Jack Antonoff, exhilarating movement and choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and delightful direction by Sam Gold. The scenic design by dots is very minimal, but it is also very creative. The costume design by Enver Chakartash is very daring and will hold your attention. Lighting design is well done by Isabella Byrd. Sound design is by Cody Spencer. Hair, wig and makeup design are excitingly delivered by Robert Picken and Katie Gell.
This “Romeo + Juliet” has enormous Teddy Bears as part of the set. They are in the lobby and in the theater, Romeo even sleeps on one, but there is definitely nothing soft and cuddly about this production — it is on fire, it is fierce, it is love, passion, desire and tragedy! For tickets, visit www.romeoandjulietnyc.com.