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Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler Rise to the Challenge of Romeo +Juliet
October 24, 2024, 11:03.09 pm ET

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Photo: Murphy Zimmerman

By Brian Scott Lipton

I’m not one to normally advocate for slipping into a theater right before a show starts, but I will make an exception for “Romeo & Juliet.” Why? Because the less time you have to observe the lobby of Circle in the Square re-made as a carnival of sorts or watch a pre-show almost weirder than the one that precedes “Cabaret,” – with the show’s young cast cavorting on skateboards, swimming pool floats and teddy bears – the less time you’ll have to contemplate how director Sam Gold will likely mess up another Shakespeare classic. And here’s the kicker: he doesn’t!

That the production works so well is thanks in large part to his leading players. As the impulsive Romeo, 20-year-old Kit Connor -- who has perfected the art of playing the mooning, unsure young lover over three seasons of Netflix’s “Heartstopper” -- not only proves that practice makes perfect, but he speaks the Bard’s verse with superb diction and understanding of intention (not to mention that irresistible British accent.) If he doesn’t break your heart by the show’s tragic end, you may not have one!

It also doesn’t hurt that the studly-yet-boyish Connor looks incredible throughout the 2 ½-hours show, whether bare-chested, sporting tank tops, or even in the vaguely silly sequined suit designed by Enver Chakartash. Still, he’s way more than a pretty face or a buffed-up body capable of an incredible pull-up. In every aspect, Connor delivers one of the most impressive Broadway debuts in many years.

One can’t quite say exactly the same of his co-star, the petite 23-year-old movie star Rachel Zegler, but she’s definitely got the goods. It probably helped that Zegler played a variation of Juliet in the recent remake of “West Side Story’ As a result, she has the character’s emotional beats down pat: defiance, remorse, longing, confusion.

Sadly, she doesn’t quite master the Bard’s iambic pentameter, sounding far more contemporary than Connor, but the meaning of her words is almost as crystal clear as her extraordinary singing voice, shown off here in a handful of original tunes penned by multi-Grammy winner Jack Antonoff. (Get this woman a musical, stat!)

Further, while Gold’s gender-bender casting of some of the show’s supporting roles may initially seem schticky, the choice really works. Tony Award nominee Gabby Beans lowers her voice, crouches down and instantly transforms herself into Romeo’s macho best bud Mercutio, ever-so-moving in his death throes. (She also effectively plays Friar Laurence and the narrator, both chiding the audience to heed the Bard’s message about the dangers of hate and unforgiveness!)

Equally good, transgender actress Tommy Dorfman offers up terrific turns as an imposing Tybalt and Juliet’s well-meaning if slightly silly Nurse, and Sola Fadiran is remarkably impressive as the hot-tempered Lord Capulet and his less-than-sympathetic wife, sometimes playing both roles only 30 seconds. The rest of the supporting cast does well too, most notably Taheen Modar as Romeo’s loyal compatriot Benvolio.

Gold has shrunk most of the Circle’s playing space into a literal black circle in the center of the floor, designed by the ever-clever collective dots, and which contains one extraordinary surprise – almost as big as the care he brings into creating a truly effective “Romeo & Juliet.”

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