To answer your question about if Shakespeare is taught in American schools, the answer is yes, to an extent. We spend a few weeks in our English/Literature classes in three grade levels focusing on specific Shakespeare plays. Freshman year was Romeo & Juliet, Sophmore Year was Julius Caesar, and Senior Year was Macbeth. It also depends on the school in question.
Definitely varies by school district. My HS lit was organized by geography, 1 year American lit, 1 year European lit, 1 year "world" lit, and 1 year for the AP exam lit(which also includes some Shakespeare). Through that I ended up with Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Henry IV, King Lear, and Julius Caesar. Through that I learned that I HATE reading Shakespeare, but I love seeing it performed well.
We read Romeo and Juliet freshman year, but we read Macbeth junior year and then hamlet senior year (my middle school read midsummer nights dream in 8th grade)
OMG, I saw you on the subway earlier today. I didn’t realize it was you until you got off but I just want to thank you for all the work you do, you are quite literally my go-to source for all things theatre on RUclips!! Enjoy your trip to NY this go around!
I saw this play less than a week ago and it was like a life changing experience. The stage set-up was so cool. I was like in row B so it was so cool to be able to hear Kit's conversation with the other actors before they started. It was so weird seeing people that were once on my TV in real life. I really recommend seeing this play if u enjoy plays that are a bit more erotic and comedic. I do not recommend watching with your parents though.
Such a treat for us. I have been so wanting to know what an informed theatre-goer thinks about this production. Who better than Mickey Jo?! I won’t likely be able to see it myself so I greatly appreciate your commentary. And cannot wait for the lengthy vids on your collective experiences/show-goings on this current trip in New York. Always impressed with your work. ❤
I feel like whenever I watch any version of Romeo and Juliet it's all about the vibes for me. As much as the plotline bugs me (there are so many places for people to make better decisions!) I still get sucked in every time. Granted, I have seen a lot more opera and ballet productions, where it's even MORE about feelings and vibes. When you were describing the opening of the play and how it was more populist and less pretentious, I just thought that's so much more in line with how Shakespeare was in his day. It's so easy for us to forget that his work was sometimes bawdy, commercial, popular entertainment.
Just got home from seeing this production tonight and the first thing I had to do was watch your review. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Especially being so impressed by Kit Connor (I'm a huge Heartstopper fan so I'm not surprised, but this is a very different character) and not in love with some of the musical moments (that "We Are Young" moment was so weird and out of place). Most Americans study some Shakespeare in school. I actually didn't get to do R&J because the honors kids read it in 8th grade (when I wasn't in honors) and the regular classes read it in 9th grade (when I was in honors). I studied Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear in school. I was also in a production of Midsummer at camp (I played Flute...I'm a girl, btw, the whole production only had 2 boys, they played the lovers). And I read Much Ado after falling in love with Robert Sean Leonard when that movie came out.
My Shakespeare professor, Irving Ribner (of the Ribner-Kittridge editions) averred R&J was mostly a comedy until the last two acts. In historical context, he definitely had a valid point. He thought it was very funny. Unfortunately, the semester after he taught us, he suddenly passed away. That man could make anyone love Shakespeare.
Romeo + Juliet wasn't really near the top of my list of shows that I wanted to see, but - along w. Jack Antonoff's original music - your review has me sold. BTW I didn't know Gaby Beans was in it! I saw her several years ago as Sabina in a production of The Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center (she was Tony-nominated), and she's great!
@@RaymondNYC1 i went to see it with a guaranteed seat but those who had standing tickets were given the seats that were empty by the time of the start of the show!
WOW! Such a thoughtful review and reflection as always! I saw it in previews and this production is fabulous and is the R&J I wanted when I was in high school in the 80s.! I did find many similarities to Baz Luhrmann's R&J movie adaptation with Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes in 1996. When my kids had this unit in high school I made sure to have them watch that version! A pro shot of this current play could be a great teaching tool!
I think Romeo and Juliet is pretty standard in American schools. Both of my kids studied it, and my teenager is currently rehearsing a modern-day Romeo and Juliet in theirschool theatre group.
I swear I'll come back around to watching this once I finally manage to suck up the $$$ to see it. I prioritized Ragtime (which I'm seeing this Thurs) and other plays. Excited to see what other shows you plan to review!
In my high school we studied As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and the Scottish play, with thorough analysis over four years. American education is incredibly Anglo-centric. Jane Austen, the Brontes, Charles Dickens, Chaucer (although they cleaned up the Canterbury Tales!) and so forth. In fact we studied more English literature and poetry than American literature and poetry, or so it seemed. We definitely didn't study any Black American or Latino American literature, although it's a bit different now. I was in high school a long time ago! Now high schoolers read August Wilson's Fences and Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street.
Can confirm: Am American, went to ordinary local schools my whole life and read five Shakespeare plays, including R & J, for English class between the ages of 13 and 18.
Weirdly a lot of American Shakespeare performances are not in New York. I mean sure, Shakespeare in The Park is there, but DC actually has the same amount of Shakespeare done per captia as Stratford-Upon-Avon (I think). There is a lot of Shakespeare in America, it’s just spread out across our country.
Yes, a lot of US cities have Shakespeare companies! The thing I miss the most about theater in my hometown that we just don’t have in NYC is the opportunity for year-round Shakespeare. Most NYC Shakespeare is either celebrity-driven Broadway limited runs or happens over the summer. Not only the Public’s Shakespeare in the Park, but other companies like Classical Theatre of Harlem, New York Classical Theatre, and many others primarily do Shakespeare (and most of their shows) in the summer. I think a lot of these companies do performances and classes for schools year-round though, which is the role of a lot of Shakespeare companies. But Shakespeare is still huge in North America! There’s the Stratford Festival in Canada (which I would love to go to someday). Plus, the largest collection of Shakespeare’s works is at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC. We don’t have national pride in his legacy the same way the Brits do, but Shakespeare influences the literature, language, and culture of all English-speaking cultures (and non-English speaking, just to a smaller extent).
I know this comment is late to the party, but I love the idea of populist Shakespeare b/c from everything I've heard about Shakespeare in my history classes is his plays were meant to be theatre for the common man but now the iambic pentameter makes people think it's supposed to be for the elite. So even though I can't see it, I'm happy it exists.
It depends on the state curriculum, but I think Romeo and Juliet is taught at the 9th grade level in high school pretty much across the board. In some cases that is probably the only one that American classes will dive deeply into. I think I did read Macbeth my junior or senior year, but I don't remember diving into it nearly as much as we did with R&J.
A little bit off topic we don’t get to study Shakespeare in Australia we study a famous Australian poet Banjo Paterson (I think I spelt his last name wrong mb) but it was even studying it, it was just saying a poem of his ‘Weary Will’ for me but I love Shakespeare 😭😭😭
In my highschool we read Romeo and Juliet and the teacher asigned us all parts. A different english class also read Macbeth and Hamlet but that was specifically an English lit class that people had to sign up for so not everyone read those.
on US education on Shakespeare it depends a lot on your school district and where you’re from. in my school district the last six years of schooling, we did a different shakespeare play every year: a midsummer nights dream, romeo and juliet, julius caesar, hamlet, othello, and macbeth
At our matinee last Wednesday, we had to shush the backstage actors (who were under/behind our section) multiple times. OTHERWISE...I though Kit's acting was supurb. What a wonderful surprise. I felt Rachel was walking through her performance...I saw little emotion or acting from her. The rest of the gender-fluid (Gen F?) cast was excellent. Really liked the 4 actual songs that were performed...hope we get an ep from the show.
It totally is taught in the US. We had an extensive year of all of Shakespeare in our honors 9th grade class: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Othello and others… Yes it was intense year for 9th grade honors plus the normal standard English requirements for American course.
It's funny, R&J was never a play i studied at school (in England), although my school did do a production, but i did write a piece at uni based on Ovid' Pyramus and Thisbe which is of course performed by the mechanicals in midsummer night's dream. It's curious how things are tied together 😊
The moment where Paris runs up to the DJ booth confused me at first too. Then I realized it was to draw the audience’s attention away from the stage so they could essentially reset for the next scene. I agree it didn’t work super well. But other than that, I loved the energy of this production. It was great!
heyyy everyone very weird question but i have very recently (aka last week) gotten a diagnosis of asthma and i was wondering whether there is a lot of smoke on this show (not just the vaping/smoking but like smoke machines as well) im very new to this and dont want to risk having a crisis at the theatre hahahaha (btw i'm seeing this production in december and can confirm that as a 20 year old, MickeyJoTheatre subscriber + rachel zegler ytb og + heartstopper comic fan im the EXACT demographic they were aiming at hahahaha)
Of the reviews I've seen - both audience and seasoned reviewers - the one consensus appears to be that the songs don't add any particular value beyond being nice and well performed. But seeing clips of Man Of The House being sung by Juliet just as Romeo leaves for his banishment and then briefly reprised by Romeo as he wakes up in his newly banished status I see where it does work in that moment. Even if the song itself doesn't fit initially with the order of events - or even lyrically - it's in Romeo's reprise that demonstrates how he and Juliet remain emotionally and spiritually connected to each other while physically separated. The song could be anything. It happens to be Man Of The House but if Juliet sang something else entirely Romeo's brief reprise and his imagining she is there with him has the same purpose in that moment.
Most American schools will do one shakespeare play study per year of high school. For ours is was R+J in 9th, Macbeth in 10th, Midsummer in 11th, and Hamlet in 12th
Thanks for this review. I’m seeing it in 2 days. I did study Shakespeare in high school back in the 1990s. I have no idea if it’s being taught today though. From what I hear of the decline of American education and lack of reading books, I’d be surprised if it is.
In the US, Shakespeare is generally taught in higher level English classes taken by college bound kids. Which means that the kids in regular classes don't have much, if any, exposure to it. Which kind of feeds into the whole elitism thing about Shakespeare here, which is completely opposite of what the plays are and who they are for. That being said, there's a Shakespeare Festival each year in Ashland, OR. Would LOVE for you to go some year and report back. The town is charming and the plays truly shine in an incredible setting. They mix it up with new plays too.
I think that the Paris moment where he sings “We Are Young” is actually before anyone knows that Juliet is “dead.” I enjoyed that moment because it seemed like it was Paris walking around his wedding venue already a little drunk going on a power trip bossing around all the wedding servers and set up people
Since everyone is dropping their high school Shakespeare reading requirements, mine were: Midsummer (eight grade), R&J (ninth), Julius Caesar (tenth). After that I took Advanced Placement, so there weren’t any school district requirements, but we read Hamlet in my AP Lit course.
I was lucky enough to see this production on its opening night and I could not agree with you more regarding Kit's performance. He was truly outstanding , impressive, and the standout highlight of the whole production. I think you went kind of easy on Rachel. I found her Juliet to be bland and emotionless. Like she's working so hard to deliver the complicated shakespearean dialogue, she doesn't have any capacity left over to put much behind the words. She's just not very good in this except for when she's singing (she has a truly special voice, but it didn't lend to her overall performance of the role). I just don't think Rachel was able to hold her own with the rest of the cast, who I agree with you were excellent as well. Worth seeing for Kit and everything else you mentioned... but Rachel's casting to me is a major dud.
plenty of schools do a midsummer nights dream or romeo and juliet as a school play for a grade Depending on where in america the school is. I played moonshine in 8th grade lol.
I don't entirely agree about the portrayals of Lord and Lady Capulet. As the show went on, I just found it increasingly confusing. Maybe I caught him on a bad night, but I couldn't really see a distinction between the two characters by the end. It was especially apparent/annoying compared to Tommy's brilliant and distinct portrayals of Tybalt and the Nurse. LOVED the balcony scene, though.
Do you think this production would be transfer to the West End besides the recent west end adaptation of R+J, perhaps Kit and Rachel could perform there for limited time
I saw RAGTIME last night. What a night....Thrilling! Joe Papp and company presented The Bard to communities who "wouldn't get Shakespeare." They got it.
Sounds like a very accessible production, and anything that brings young people to the theatre is clearly a good thing, but are the tickets priced in such a way that an average young person could afford to see this production?
Wonderful review! Romeo & Juliet is taught in American public and private schools, in my day (graduated 1988) we saw the old movie (with the nudity) in 5th grade. We don't teach Shakespeare very thoroughly, you're lucky if your teacher makes everyone read it out loud. It's probably the Shakespeare most Americans are the most familiar with, but I'd venture to say our familiarity is mostly from adaptations, from movies to cartoons to musicals. I don't think most of us could answer questions about the source side characters or plot points with any specificity. Someone else mentioned Hamlet and Macbeth as the others we hit hard and i agree.
Wherever did you get that idea? As the commenters here state, Shakespeare is taught in all American schools. Most big cities have a least one theater company devoted to Shakespeare. I'm shocked and flabbergasted that you didn't know that.
Shakespeare wrote the first half to be very comedic it is just that most production dont lean into it like this one has but it works really well. It is my favourite interpretation of R+J. Kits Romeo is astounding!
I very much enjoy productions that subvert expectations of Shakespeare. However, R & J is a play about irrational conflict - if they want to leave that out, maybe write a new play?
PSA you would have so many more followers and watches if your videos were 20 min or less. You’re amazing at what you do but the reviews are just too long.
You're very possibly right, but many of the followers I do have like the reviews to be of a length and have said as much when I've offered to make them shorter. The good news is I (and many other brilliant folks) share shorter reviews over on TikTok!
To answer your question about if Shakespeare is taught in American schools, the answer is yes, to an extent. We spend a few weeks in our English/Literature classes in three grade levels focusing on specific Shakespeare plays. Freshman year was Romeo & Juliet, Sophmore Year was Julius Caesar, and Senior Year was Macbeth. It also depends on the school in question.
Same 3 Shakespeare plays for me in high school.
Definitely varies by school district. My HS lit was organized by geography, 1 year American lit, 1 year European lit, 1 year "world" lit, and 1 year for the AP exam lit(which also includes some Shakespeare). Through that I ended up with Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Henry IV, King Lear, and Julius Caesar. Through that I learned that I HATE reading Shakespeare, but I love seeing it performed well.
We went through Othello, the Scottish Play, and Hamlet my senior year, with R&J in 9th and JC in 10th.
We read Romeo and Juliet freshman year, but we read Macbeth junior year and then hamlet senior year (my middle school read midsummer nights dream in 8th grade)
My school covered Romeo & Juliet freshman year and Macbeth senior year. That's it. We didn't do Julius Caesar.
OMG, I saw you on the subway earlier today. I didn’t realize it was you until you got off but I just want to thank you for all the work you do, you are quite literally my go-to source for all things theatre on RUclips!! Enjoy your trip to NY this go around!
@@mateenvkane oh thank you - that's very kind of you to say!
30:39 Well, he *did* play the younger version of Elton John who Taron Edgerton played in Rocketman.
I saw this play less than a week ago and it was like a life changing experience. The stage set-up was so cool. I was like in row B so it was so cool to be able to hear Kit's conversation with the other actors before they started. It was so weird seeing people that were once on my TV in real life. I really recommend seeing this play if u enjoy plays that are a bit more erotic and comedic. I do not recommend watching with your parents though.
And I can't wait for your video comparing these 2 current productions!
In the next video, look forward to Romeo and Romeo.
Such a treat for us. I have been so wanting to know what an informed theatre-goer thinks about this production. Who better than Mickey Jo?! I won’t likely be able to see it myself so I greatly appreciate your commentary. And cannot wait for the lengthy vids on your collective experiences/show-goings on this current trip in New York. Always impressed with your work. ❤
I feel like whenever I watch any version of Romeo and Juliet it's all about the vibes for me. As much as the plotline bugs me (there are so many places for people to make better decisions!) I still get sucked in every time. Granted, I have seen a lot more opera and ballet productions, where it's even MORE about feelings and vibes.
When you were describing the opening of the play and how it was more populist and less pretentious, I just thought that's so much more in line with how Shakespeare was in his day. It's so easy for us to forget that his work was sometimes bawdy, commercial, popular entertainment.
Yay, the man is on broadway again . Looking forward to all your reviews before I go at Xmas
Seeing this when I go to New York later this month. My first time to NYC and I’m seeing a show every night. Cannot wait.
Just got home from seeing this production tonight and the first thing I had to do was watch your review. I pretty much agree with everything you said. Especially being so impressed by Kit Connor (I'm a huge Heartstopper fan so I'm not surprised, but this is a very different character) and not in love with some of the musical moments (that "We Are Young" moment was so weird and out of place). Most Americans study some Shakespeare in school. I actually didn't get to do R&J because the honors kids read it in 8th grade (when I wasn't in honors) and the regular classes read it in 9th grade (when I was in honors). I studied Hamlet, Macbeth, and King Lear in school. I was also in a production of Midsummer at camp (I played Flute...I'm a girl, btw, the whole production only had 2 boys, they played the lovers). And I read Much Ado after falling in love with Robert Sean Leonard when that movie came out.
My Shakespeare professor, Irving Ribner (of the Ribner-Kittridge editions) averred R&J was mostly a comedy until the last two acts. In historical context, he definitely had a valid point. He thought it was very funny. Unfortunately, the semester after he taught us, he suddenly passed away. That man could make anyone love Shakespeare.
Romeo + Juliet wasn't really near the top of my list of shows that I wanted to see, but - along w. Jack Antonoff's original music - your review has me sold. BTW I didn't know Gaby Beans was in it! I saw her several years ago as Sabina in a production of The Skin of Our Teeth at Lincoln Center (she was Tony-nominated), and she's great!
Update: Least expensive ticket is Standing Room for $49! So I guess I won't be seeing it after all lol
@@RaymondNYC1 i went to see it with a guaranteed seat but those who had standing tickets were given the seats that were empty by the time of the start of the show!
WOW! Such a thoughtful review and reflection as always! I saw it in previews and this production is fabulous and is the R&J I wanted when I was in high school in the 80s.! I did find many similarities to Baz Luhrmann's R&J movie adaptation with Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes in 1996. When my kids had this unit in high school I made sure to have them watch that version! A pro shot of this current play could be a great teaching tool!
Ugh, waiting for this review!!! Love this concept.
Me, waiting for your Water for Elephants review after having seen it last week (it has since become one of my all time favourites)
@@cokedudebestmate7099 I'm seeing it again tonight, will do my best to put one together soon!
I think Romeo and Juliet is pretty standard in American schools. Both of my kids studied it, and my teenager is currently rehearsing a modern-day Romeo and Juliet in theirschool theatre group.
I swear I'll come back around to watching this once I finally manage to suck up the $$$ to see it. I prioritized Ragtime (which I'm seeing this Thurs) and other plays. Excited to see what other shows you plan to review!
I also spent too much money on Ragtime! I loved it and I hope you had a good time. It’s worth it for the vocals alone.
Going to see the play in ten days! Looking forward to it! Thanks for the review. 👊👊
Our middle school literature class had a book which had both "Romeo and Juliet" with "West Side Story" scripts.
I had saved this to my watch later to watch after seeing the show. I saw it yesterday and it was magnificent
I’m in Atlanta and we have the Shakespeare Tavern (a Shakespeare theatre company and dinner theatre)! A lot of great shows performed there.
In my high school we studied As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and the Scottish play, with thorough analysis over four years. American education is incredibly Anglo-centric. Jane Austen, the Brontes, Charles Dickens, Chaucer (although they cleaned up the Canterbury Tales!) and so forth. In fact we studied more English literature and poetry than American literature and poetry, or so it seemed. We definitely didn't study any Black American or Latino American literature, although it's a bit different now. I was in high school a long time ago! Now high schoolers read August Wilson's Fences and Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street.
I was very surprised by the production. I really enjoyed it.
I saw it on Halloween evening and thought it was very good and Kit was extraordinary
Thank you for sharing your experience for the people who weren’t able to go❤ I love Romeo so much by Romeo I mean, the guy who played it Kit Connor
Can confirm: Am American, went to ordinary local schools my whole life and read five Shakespeare plays, including R & J, for English class between the ages of 13 and 18.
Delightful analysis and review. Thank you.
Weirdly a lot of American Shakespeare performances are not in New York. I mean sure, Shakespeare in The Park is there, but DC actually has the same amount of Shakespeare done per captia as Stratford-Upon-Avon (I think). There is a lot of Shakespeare in America, it’s just spread out across our country.
Yes, a lot of US cities have Shakespeare companies! The thing I miss the most about theater in my hometown that we just don’t have in NYC is the opportunity for year-round Shakespeare. Most NYC Shakespeare is either celebrity-driven Broadway limited runs or happens over the summer. Not only the Public’s Shakespeare in the Park, but other companies like Classical Theatre of Harlem, New York Classical Theatre, and many others primarily do Shakespeare (and most of their shows) in the summer. I think a lot of these companies do performances and classes for schools year-round though, which is the role of a lot of Shakespeare companies.
But Shakespeare is still huge in North America! There’s the Stratford Festival in Canada (which I would love to go to someday). Plus, the largest collection of Shakespeare’s works is at the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC. We don’t have national pride in his legacy the same way the Brits do, but Shakespeare influences the literature, language, and culture of all English-speaking cultures (and non-English speaking, just to a smaller extent).
I know this comment is late to the party, but I love the idea of populist Shakespeare b/c from everything I've heard about Shakespeare in my history classes is his plays were meant to be theatre for the common man but now the iambic pentameter makes people think it's supposed to be for the elite. So even though I can't see it, I'm happy it exists.
It depends on the state curriculum, but I think Romeo and Juliet is taught at the 9th grade level in high school pretty much across the board. In some cases that is probably the only one that American classes will dive deeply into. I think I did read Macbeth my junior or senior year, but I don't remember diving into it nearly as much as we did with R&J.
A little bit off topic we don’t get to study Shakespeare in Australia we study a famous Australian poet Banjo Paterson (I think I spelt his last name wrong mb) but it was even studying it, it was just saying a poem of his ‘Weary Will’ for me but I love Shakespeare 😭😭😭
In my highschool we read Romeo and Juliet and the teacher asigned us all parts. A different english class also read Macbeth and Hamlet but that was specifically an English lit class that people had to sign up for so not everyone read those.
on US education on Shakespeare it depends a lot on your school district and where you’re from. in my school district the last six years of schooling, we did a different shakespeare play every year: a midsummer nights dream, romeo and juliet, julius caesar, hamlet, othello, and macbeth
i’m american and read r&j, hamlet, and othello in 9th, 10th, and 12th grade respectively.
Wonderful review as always
At our matinee last Wednesday, we had to shush the backstage actors (who were under/behind our section) multiple times. OTHERWISE...I though Kit's acting was supurb. What a wonderful surprise. I felt Rachel was walking through her performance...I saw little emotion or acting from her. The rest of the gender-fluid (Gen F?) cast was excellent. Really liked the 4 actual songs that were performed...hope we get an ep from the show.
It totally is taught in the US. We had an extensive year of all of Shakespeare in our honors 9th grade class: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet, Othello and others…
Yes it was intense year for 9th grade honors plus the normal standard English requirements for American course.
It's funny, R&J was never a play i studied at school (in England), although my school did do a production, but i did write a piece at uni based on Ovid' Pyramus and Thisbe which is of course performed by the mechanicals in midsummer night's dream. It's curious how things are tied together 😊
The moment where Paris runs up to the DJ booth confused me at first too. Then I realized it was to draw the audience’s attention away from the stage so they could essentially reset for the next scene. I agree it didn’t work super well. But other than that, I loved the energy of this production. It was great!
heyyy everyone very weird question but i have very recently (aka last week) gotten a diagnosis of asthma and i was wondering whether there is a lot of smoke on this show (not just the vaping/smoking but like smoke machines as well) im very new to this and dont want to risk having a crisis at the theatre hahahaha
(btw i'm seeing this production in december and can confirm that as a 20 year old, MickeyJoTheatre subscriber + rachel zegler ytb og + heartstopper comic fan im the EXACT demographic they were aiming at hahahaha)
I don't recall there being much quantity of smoke, but if you are able to reach out to the box office they ought to be able to confirm that for you!
@ thank you!! thats super helpful🩷
Of the reviews I've seen - both audience and seasoned reviewers - the one consensus appears to be that the songs don't add any particular value beyond being nice and well performed. But seeing clips of Man Of The House being sung by Juliet just as Romeo leaves for his banishment and then briefly reprised by Romeo as he wakes up in his newly banished status I see where it does work in that moment. Even if the song itself doesn't fit initially with the order of events - or even lyrically - it's in Romeo's reprise that demonstrates how he and Juliet remain emotionally and spiritually connected to each other while physically separated. The song could be anything. It happens to be Man Of The House but if Juliet sang something else entirely Romeo's brief reprise and his imagining she is there with him has the same purpose in that moment.
Most American schools will do one shakespeare play study per year of high school. For ours is was R+J in 9th, Macbeth in 10th, Midsummer in 11th, and Hamlet in 12th
Thanks for this review. I’m seeing it in 2 days. I did study Shakespeare in high school back in the 1990s. I have no idea if it’s being taught today though. From what I hear of the decline of American education and lack of reading books, I’d be surprised if it is.
Fantastic review.
I had a Shakespeare class in High School. Loved it!
I would love to see this show, but the ticket prices have been very pricey. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that I get the opportunity to see it soon!
In the US, Shakespeare is generally taught in higher level English classes taken by college bound kids. Which means that the kids in regular classes don't have much, if any, exposure to it. Which kind of feeds into the whole elitism thing about Shakespeare here, which is completely opposite of what the plays are and who they are for.
That being said, there's a Shakespeare Festival each year in Ashland, OR. Would LOVE for you to go some year and report back. The town is charming and the plays truly shine in an incredible setting. They mix it up with new plays too.
I think that the Paris moment where he sings “We Are Young” is actually before anyone knows that Juliet is “dead.” I enjoyed that moment because it seemed like it was Paris walking around his wedding venue already a little drunk going on a power trip bossing around all the wedding servers and set up people
Since everyone is dropping their high school Shakespeare reading requirements, mine were: Midsummer (eight grade), R&J (ninth), Julius Caesar (tenth). After that I took Advanced Placement, so there weren’t any school district requirements, but we read Hamlet in my AP Lit course.
😅Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet has What is a Youth. Beautiful song very Renaissance
I was lucky enough to see this production on its opening night and I could not agree with you more regarding Kit's performance. He was truly outstanding , impressive, and the standout highlight of the whole production. I think you went kind of easy on Rachel. I found her Juliet to be bland and emotionless. Like she's working so hard to deliver the complicated shakespearean dialogue, she doesn't have any capacity left over to put much behind the words. She's just not very good in this except for when she's singing (she has a truly special voice, but it didn't lend to her overall performance of the role). I just don't think Rachel was able to hold her own with the rest of the cast, who I agree with you were excellent as well. Worth seeing for Kit and everything else you mentioned... but Rachel's casting to me is a major dud.
Can’t wait for the video comparing it with Jamie Lloyd’s!!
plenty of schools do a midsummer nights dream or romeo and juliet as a school play for a grade Depending on where in america the school is. I played moonshine in 8th grade lol.
I hope you’re seeing Maybe Happy Ending! That show had me sobbing almost the entire time 🥹🥹🥹it’s so beautiful and sad!
I don't entirely agree about the portrayals of Lord and Lady Capulet. As the show went on, I just found it increasingly confusing. Maybe I caught him on a bad night, but I couldn't really see a distinction between the two characters by the end.
It was especially apparent/annoying compared to Tommy's brilliant and distinct portrayals of Tybalt and the Nurse.
LOVED the balcony scene, though.
Do you think this production would be transfer to the West End besides the recent west end adaptation of R+J, perhaps Kit and Rachel could perform there for limited time
I haven’t seen this my favorite is William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet 1996 Leonardo DiCaprio, and Claire Danes
West Side Story sung by boyband LFO. RIP Rich & Devin.
I saw RAGTIME last night. What a night....Thrilling! Joe Papp and company presented The Bard to communities who "wouldn't get Shakespeare." They got it.
Sounds like a very accessible production, and anything that brings young people to the theatre is clearly a good thing, but are the tickets priced in such a way that an average young person could afford to see this production?
If only the ticket prices were actually reasonable. Last I saw the highest average ticket price exceeded 500 dollars
There's the rub.
it wasnt for me but glad you liked it. i wish i did. shakespearean language with actors wearing urban outfitters just didnt match for me.
Wonderful review! Romeo & Juliet is taught in American public and private schools, in my day (graduated 1988) we saw the old movie (with the nudity) in 5th grade. We don't teach Shakespeare very thoroughly, you're lucky if your teacher makes everyone read it out loud. It's probably the Shakespeare most Americans are the most familiar with, but I'd venture to say our familiarity is mostly from adaptations, from movies to cartoons to musicals. I don't think most of us could answer questions about the source side characters or plot points with any specificity. Someone else mentioned Hamlet and Macbeth as the others we hit hard and i agree.
That was your experience. In my ordinary Chicago high school, we studied Shakespeare very thoroughly.
I am simply shocked and flabbergasted that you have never experienced ANY aspect or element of Shakespeare in The States 😱
Wherever did you get that idea? As the commenters here state, Shakespeare is taught in all American schools. Most big cities have a least one theater company devoted to Shakespeare. I'm shocked and flabbergasted that you didn't know that.
Kit is BY FAR the best thing about this production. I won't say much more about the production or other actors.
Thanks. Seems odd to have so much humor in a tragedy. Staging sound interesting.
Shakespeare wrote the first half to be very comedic it is just that most production dont lean into it like this one has but it works really well. It is my favourite interpretation of R+J. Kits Romeo is astounding!
I saw Romeo + Juliet. I didn’t really like it, oh well, not for me. I can see why people liked it, just not my jam.
I very much enjoy productions that subvert expectations of Shakespeare. However, R & J is a play about irrational conflict - if they want to leave that out, maybe write a new play?
I mean they still kill each other /spoiler
would
PSA you would have so many more followers and watches if your videos were 20 min or less. You’re amazing at what you do but the reviews are just too long.
You're very possibly right, but many of the followers I do have like the reviews to be of a length and have said as much when I've offered to make them shorter.
The good news is I (and many other brilliant folks) share shorter reviews over on TikTok!
@@MickeyJoTheatrei love the long review!