Rachel Zegler, Kit Connor save a messy ‘Romeo + Juliet’

NEW YORK − Brat summer is over, so brace yourself for Bard fall.
“Romeo + Juliet,” which opened Oct. 24 at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre, is an in-your-face, relentlessly Gen Z spin on the most famous love story ever told. Garishly conceived by director Sam Gold (last season’s exquisite “An Enemy of the People”), the production has already drawn legions of squealing fans for its fetching combo of young Hollywood royalty, Kit Connor (“Heartstopper”) and Rachel Zegler (“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”).
Gold tries his damnedest to bring something new to William Shakespeare’s 1597 play, which has been performed in just about every space imaginable for the past four centuries, including three dozen times on Broadway. He occasionally achieves something gorgeous and intimate, thanks in large part to the white-hot chemistry of his two leads. But for slightly older audiences, now nursing heartburn more often than heartbreak, you’ll probably just feel exhausted.
Theatergoers are thrust into a neon-soaked thunderdome from the moment they step foot in the lobby, where Charli XCX pummels through the speakers and stacks of smiling teddy bears are held captive in fluorescent towers. The actors are on stage well before the show begins: chatting, hugging, grinding and smoking as they huddle around a shopping cart of more imprisoned stuffies. The vibe is very “teens hanging out in the Target parking lot,” only with a lot more sonnets and glitter.
The show swaps in fair Verona for a raucous underground rave, which could also double as a laser tag arena. When we first meet Romeo (Connor) and Juliet (Zegler), they’re roosting on stairwells flanked by – you guessed it – mammoth teddy bears, intently gazing at the warring clans that will eventually drive them to suicide. But Gold struggles to create tension between the rival Capulets and Montagues, many of whom are played by actors in dual roles. (Sola Fadiran, as both Capulet parents, is a riveting standout.)
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Whenever they’re not speaking, the cast is flirting and fondling one another just out of view, collapsing into vast, sweaty heaps as they cuddle on the floor. The whole concept seems to be “Wouldn’t these families get along if they all just kissed a little more?” (Probably yes!) But the characters become so interwoven and vaguely sketched that you never get a sense of real danger between the two households. Unlike last spring’s “The Outsiders,” which mounted an erotic rumble between muscled gangs, the staging here is too sloppy to spark friction.
The oppressive production works best when it pops a Xanax and cedes the spotlight to its mesmerizing stars. Connor is a revelation as Romeo, with the gentle sincerity of a golden retriever and the arms of a Navy SEAL. In the show’s most swoon-worthy moment, Connor hangs midair off Juliet’s balcony and pulls himself up into a passionate kiss with Zegler, eliciting gasps and cheers from the smitten crowd. The British actor finds the humor and sensitivity in his lustful swain, and his mellifluous voice is perfectly matched to Shakespeare’s prose.
Zegler, too, brings a shrewd wit and openheartedness that makes her Juliet irresistible. Her take on the character is no blushing flower but a girl who’s wise beyond her years and knows the beguiling power she holds. Her amorous tête-à-tête with Connor is infectious to watch, and she beautifully commands the stage during Juliet’s aching Act 2 soliloquies.
The “West Side Story” breakout also has two moments when she goes full Christina Aguilera, performing original songs by pop maestro Jack Antonoff. The catchy tunes do little to enhance the story itself, but they’re a good enough excuse just to hear her powerhouse belt.
Connor and Zegler are so outstanding that you can’t help but wish for a better show around them. Gold creates some striking stage pictures through Isabella Byrd’s tremendous lighting, particularly in the balcony and finale sequences. But Dots’ scenic design is often too cluttered for such a small space, and you may wonder whether the cast got dressed in the dark, given their clashing ensembles by Enver Chakartash.
Ultimately, this frenetic new “Romeo” throws everything at the wall, rarely trusting the eager ensemble and airtight text to stand on their own. In straining so hard to communicate youthful vitality, Gold mostly robs the show of its violent delights.