As someone whose lock screen has been a picture of Kit Connor for months, I knew I had to jump at the chance to see his Broadway debut. After turning on text notifications, waiting in the cue, and securing my tickets to Romeo + Juliet (directed by Sam Gold), I eagerly awaited October 26th at 2 PM, when I would finally get to see the show. I had no clue how a Shakespeare text with music by Jack Antonoff (who has written for Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter) and performed in the round by two TV/movie stars Kit Connor (Heartstopper, Rocketman) and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, Hunger Games) would pan out. I am here to report my full experience and thoughts for those who are wondering the same thing.
When I first walked into the Circle in the Square Theater, I was shocked to learn that Kit Connor and the rest of the cast were casually hanging out on stage mere feet from me. While I knew the show would be performed in the round (with audience members on all sides), I couldn’t quite visualize how intimate the experience would be. I was quite taken aback by the presence of a Hello Kitty backpack, a pack of Haribo gummies, and a huge inflatable seat on the stage, but I contently watched as the cast members had the time of their lives dancing around as if nobody was watching. Once all of the characters were introduced and the show went into full swing, there were many stand-out moments.
For one, the audience engagement was exceptional — the actors would run up and down the stairs and ask viewers rhetorical questions. Another positive surprise was seeing actress Gabby Beans bring both Mercutio and The Friar to life. She has a keen ability to play these vastly different characters believably and with a refreshing sense of humor. And of course, Kit’s knack for playing characters who are head-over-heels in love fits this show perfectly. I also feel obligated to mention the insanity of him dangling from a hanging platform for no less than a minute and doing a full pull-up only to hold it with ease while kissing Juliet (Zegler) — but that could be its own article. Finally, Rachel Zegler’s acting, and singing especially, did not disappoint.
The original songs, however, felt a tad disconnected from the overall flow of the performance. The show was not a musical and only included a couple of songs which felt like moments made specifically for Rachel’s talent to shine. There was one song that other cast members sang right as intermission came to an end, but not everyone had returned to their seats by this point which made it feel oddly like a performance of its own. Also, some of the commentary on Gen Z was quite elusive. The Gen Z attitudes portrayed and objects included (such as a Borg which made many appearances and helped Romeo execute his final demise), seemed to miss the mark on making a distinct, profound claim about this generation. The show does, however, create room for productive discourse about how Gen Z navigates relationships and copes with general animosity in today’s world. Overall, Romeo + Juliet is certainly an engaging and overall worthwhile experience. I would encourage everyone who has the opportunity to see it to do so. Now I will leave you all with a dire question: “To borg or not to borg?”
Senior Skylar Zachian is the Director of Marketing for The College Reporter. Her email is szachian@fandm.edu.