Rachel Zegler Singed, Kit Connor Stripteased

Why are you like that, Juliet?

That might be a question you might ask sometime during Broadway’s latest push to bring Shakespeare to audiences who can actually afford expensive tickets. And Bard’s latest venture is a hot ticket. “Romeo + Juliet” opened at Circle in the Square on Thursday; Despite being Broadway’s smallest theater, last week Sam Gold’s energetic new production of this ancient romantic tragedy grossed more than $1 million.

Gold’s last two outings with Shakespeare on Broadway were less than successful, despite “King Lear” starring Glenda Jackson and “Macbeth” starring Daniel Craig. Much more memorable were her productions of “Hamlet” with Oscar Isaac at the Public Theater and “Othello” with Craig and David Oeylowoh at the New York Theater Workshop. Gold’s “Romeo + Juliet” is more suggestive than revelatory. It runs a very digestible two hours and 10 minutes with intermissions, and all the monologues are interspersed with fight scenes thrillingly choreographed by Sonya Tayeh, who throws in some breakdancing. There is also a credit that reads “Violence by Drew Leary.”

If you’re worried about the plus (+) sign in the title, Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 movie “Romeo + Juliet,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, is a no-brainer. Those lovers were young. The set design for Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler’s children and Dots in Gold’s production includes a playroom filled with adorable stuffed animals, some of them gigantic. Gold’s use of the entire Circle in the Square is extremely effective. I wasn’t aware before that this theater had multiple podiums above the stage. They now live with the youth of Verona. Or maybe they’re from the Bronx.

Kit Connor of “Heartstopper” fame is stunning as Romeo, and many of the young women in the audience, as well as perhaps an older man or two, squeal with delight when he kisses Zegler. These screams become deafening when he removes his unnecessary t-shirt with an amazing work of art. Half modern, half antique costumes belong to Enver Çakartaş. Oh yes, Connor also handles Shakespeare’s poetry with real distinction.

Rachel Zegler of “West Side Story” fame isn’t exactly comfortable with iambic pentameter. Before anyone gets the idea that this criticism of Zegler is due to his American voice, right down to Connor’s very English speaking, it’s nice to report that the other Yankees in the cast have no problem making the poetry accessible to 21st Century ears. These include Gabby Beans, who plays Mercutio and Friar, Tommy Dorfman, who plays Tybalt and the Nurse, and Sola Fadiran, who plays Juliet’s mother and father.

Once upon a time, a few years ago, there were actors in the theater who went to great lengths to make us believe that they were the characters we were watching. Nowadays, it’s the audience who has to work hard to believe, for example, that a young Black female performer was a former Roman Catholic member of the Italian clergy in the 14th century (or whatever period this story is set in). Gold does not take into account the age, ethnicity and gender of the role. Beans, Dorfman and Fadiran make this irreverence part of the fun, and they handle the language beautifully as well. However, I wasn’t always sure what characters they were portraying, but I eventually caught up with them.

Zegler only comes alive as Juliet when she sings two songs by Grammy winner Jack Antonoff. One comes during the masquerade ball where she meets Romeo, and Zegler sings again before the two finally begin making love.

As Gold tells this story, theirs is puppy love. Maybe that’s the big reveal of “Romeo + Juliet.” The kids are no good, and if their story wasn’t an outright tragedy anymore, it’s a lot of fun to watch.