Opening on September 19th, 2013 and closing on December 8th, 2013, Romeo and Juliet, performed at The Richard Rodgers Theatre, was nothing short of impactful. Under the direction of David Leveaux, Romeo and Juliet ran for a total of 93 performances. The Design team includes artists Jesse Poleshuck, Fabio Toblini, David Weiner, and David Van Tieghem; These famous artists only add to the star power leading man, Orlando Bloom, brings to the production. Produced by James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, Merritt Forrest Baer, Paula Marie Black, Stephen C. Byrd, Alia Jones Harvey, Jon B. Platt, Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, this production is not short of funding. However, the show did not gross as much as expected; Falling flat in the box office after an initial spike, the shows’ earnings continued to fall (Playbill). The 2013 revival of Romeo and Juliet is significant because it tells the story of a love that goes beyond race and stature—it takes a timeless story, and adds a contemporary spin. David Leveaux, a Five-time Tony-nominated Director, leads the cast of Romeo and Juliet (Playbill.com). Inspired by cinema, Leveaux’s take on the classic tale is nothing short of a spectacle. Set in present day, the audience cannot ignore the similarities to the 1996 film directed by Baz Luhrmann (Brantley). Through scenic elements, such as fire, graffiti, and bells, Leveaux creates a drastic environment which balances a drastic story. Though unoriginal, and far too similar to
Baz Luhrmann's 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet effectively appropriates the Shakespearean 16th century love tragedy. So why has Luhrmann decided to appropriate Romeo and Juliet? By changing the context, Luhrmann effectively makes the play relevant, discussing his contextual concerns of the 1990’s. This is done through the use of themes in the film, love, family disputes and hate which have remained similar to the original play, although the way they have been presented are different, in particular the form and characters. The form has had an obvious change as the original play has been adapted into a film. Characters in the film have also been appropriated to correspond with Luhrmann's contextual concerns. Hence, Luhrmann successfully appropriates the original Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet by maintaining similar themes, but altering the form and characterisation to fit his contextual concerns.
Aristotle proposed what is believed to be the first definition of a true tragedy. Specifically, he states that a tragedy triggers great pity and fear caused by the main characters’ actions alone. Likewise, a true tragedy lacks coincidence and fate plays little in the overall play. William Shakespeare writes the play of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in which the audience knows the destiny of these two tragic heroes from the very beginning. Although this play is tragic knowing that the lives of two lovers are lost, it is not a tragedy as Romeo and Juliet are not solely responsible for their own deaths. Destiny is determined through the hands of greater forces than that of Romeo and Juliet, making this play merely tragic and not a true
In Act III, scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet, Friar Laurence informs Romeo that the Prince has decided to punish him with banishment from Verona. Instead of feeling joyful of escaping capital punishment, Romeo mourns over the fact that he could never see Juliet again. While the two discuss the Prince's decision, the Nurse arrives and tells Romeo that Juliet is also heartbroken over Tybalt's death. Guilty of hurting Juliet, Romeo threatens to commit suicide. To stop Romeo, the Friar suggests that he and Juliet should consummate their marriage, and afterwards, they can try to get the Prince's pardon. Comforted, Romeo agrees and prepares to see Juliet. As the director, I will ask the three characters to showcase the difference between the youth and
The 1996 film, Romeo and Juliet, is Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of William Shakespeare’s play by the same name. This film is part of Baz Luhrmann’s Red Curtain Trilogy where Luhrmann uses a theatre motif in each, with poetry and language being the motif used in Romeo and Juliet. This play was originally written by William Shakespeare who was an English poet, playwright, actor and a man who is considered one of the greatest contributors to English literature as he invented over 1700 now common words and wrote some of the world’s most famous plays. Romeo and Juliet was written in 1595 so Luhrmann had to give the film a contemporary twist but keeps the original themes of forbidden love and young romance to appeal to a modern audience. In the
“The most filmed of all plays, ‘Romeo and Juliet’, with its universal themes… remains uniquely adaptable for any time period,” (Botnick, 2002). Directors Franco Zeffirelli (1968) and Baz Luhrman
Romeo and Juliet is a timeless story about two ill-fated lovers. Originally written by, Shakespeare, this story has been adapted by different directors who all commonly try to add their own unique twist to it. Two of the most prevalent adaptations of Romeo and Juliet have been done by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann, who have taken this love story to the big screen. Franco Zeffirelli’s movie, which was produced in 1968, is extremely authentic and stays true to Shakespeare's vision, whereas, Baz Luhrmann’s version produced in 1996, is contemporary and appeals more to younger audiences. There are various differences and a couple of similarities between Zeffirelli’s and Luhrmann’s movie versions such as the costumes, their interpretations of
'I do but keep the peace put up thy sword, or manage it to part these
As one of the most complex characters in the play, Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio’s purpose is to act as a static catalyst for the death of most of the characters. Shakespeare uses Mercutio’s character cleverly as the kind of character that stays in the background, but influences the rest of the cast in the utmost amount. Mercutio’s light and occasionally sardonic humor at inapt times relieves the play from being a complete tragedy and allows the audience a false sense of security before calamity strikes, such as the death of his character. Mercutio also stands as a consistent character to prove that despite the fact that the majority of Shakespeare’s characters are unpredictable and impulsive, there has to be at least one character to steady
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet loved each other, but they knew that it wouldn't be possible to have a relationship because of their feuding families. Their deaths were tragic, as it was mainly the people around them that made them so unhappy. They were so in love with each other that they took risks to be together, which lead to their unfortunate deaths. Romeo is a Montague. He falls in love with Juliet the moment he sees her at a Capulet ball.
do all the things he did which led to his death. He said that she
Romeo is saying he has a premonition that he will be controlled by fate and eventually lead to a
The human spirit is one of the most complex systems of emotion that we contain or possess inside our body. For example a rubix cube is very challenging and puzzling and can easily fool you and cause you to grow impatient and angry. Also a puzzle can be just as challenging though easier because of the certain locations of edge pieces. Now apply that to your life you can learn how to be a more understanding patient person by waiting till you are done with the cube or learn nothing but disappointment from leaving it unsolved. Another lesson you learn is to be a great problem solver and in a way it helps you learn to trust by just working on the puzzle and eventually finishing it. In the play written by William Shakespeare all of these lessons
“Romeo and Juliet”, Shakespeare’s play written in 1594, was produced again at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London and directed by Dominic Dromgoogle. The play written about two star-crossed young lovers, whose families are enemies, ends predictably in tragedy. Shakespeare’s Globe Theater was the perfect venue for this production. Romeo, played by Adetomiwa Edun did a wonderful job portraying the new lover who is smitten with a woman, while Juliet, played by Ellie Kendrick, certainly looked the very young fresh-faced innocent teen. The audience seemed very engaged with the actors in this play. Dromgoogle does an excellent job of recreating the high drama in this play with his choice in music to set the change in moods, the costume choices for his cast, his humorous characters (my favorites are the servant Peter and Juliet’s nurse), along with great sword fighting scenes.
Romeo and Juliet is a story of two starcrossed lovers’ tragedy, separated by the hatred between their two families. Many adaptations have been made for his world- renowned Shakespearean play, including Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet made in 1968 and Baz Luhrmann’s “Romeo + Juliet” made in 1996. Zeffirelli’s version was made generally faithful to the play, while Baz Luhrmann’s version was set in the ‘future’. The Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet is a better representation of the play, Romeo and Juliet, because it not only shows the major aspects but also additionally includes some extra parts that are fitting and that are significant.
Analyzing Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is a tragic love story between two teenagers who fall