The most famous 'Romeo and Juliet' adaptations on stage and screen
Shakespeare's play is having a Broadway moment, with a Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler-led revival on stage alongside a pop musical that reimagines the show's ending.
Parting is such sweet sorrow. In a way, that famous line from Romeo and Juliet speaks to the enduring appeal of Shakespeare’s story of star-crossed lovers whose passions burn brightly, but briefly.
Now on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre, director Sam Gold’s exuberant Romeo + Juliet stars Kit Connor (Heartstopper) and Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) in the title roles. The production is packed with pull-ups, plus-size plush toys, propulsive music by Jack Antonoff, and a clever set design that recalls a cosmetics compact. It's a bold new take, but theatre and film artists have been finding fresh ways to revisit the tragic tale for ages.
Learn more about Broadway’s latest version of this timeless tale as well other noteworthy adaptations of the classic romance on stage and screen. Then, be sure to see Zegler and Connor in this classic heartbreaker through February 16 only.
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1597: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Nowadays, Shakespeare is known as one of the greatest English playwrights ever, and Romeo and Juliet is one of his most famous works. But would you believe that a critic named Samuel Pepys wrote of the first recorded production, "it is the play of itself the worst that ever I heard in my life, and the worst acted that ever I saw these people do"?
Luckily, the bad review didn't lead to the show's death. That production was in 1662 in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London's largest public square, and countless others have of course followed.
Romeo and Juliet itself is an adaptation: Shakespeare based his play on an Italian tale by Matteo Bandello, and authors Arthur Brooke and William Painter published their own translations of the story before it got the stage treatment. Notably, Shakespeare expanded the roles of supporting characters like Mercutio and Paris.
1754: Romeo and Juliet Broadway premiere
According to the Internet Broadway Database, Shakespeare's play has appeared on Broadway 37 times, beginning with a production at the now-defunct New Theatre in 1754. Since then, Ethel Barrymore, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Olivia de Havilland, Paul Rudd, Orlando Bloom, and more have stepped into the main roles.
Romeo and Juliet is also a popular fixture in London theatres. Notably, Tom Holland starred as Romeo in a spring 2024 revival directed by Jamie Lloyd (A Doll's House starring Jessica Chastain, Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger).
1936: First Romeo and Juliet film adaptation
Director George Cukor tapped leading man Leslie Howard, who later played Ashley in Gone with the Wind, and The Divorcee Academy Award winner Norma Shearer to star as the ill-fated lovebirds. John Barrymore and Basil Rathbone respectively played Mercutio and Tybalt.
Celebrated for its visual splendors, the film was true to the text and preserved the period Verona setting. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Shearer, Best Supporting Actor for Rathbone, and Best Art Direction.
Twenty-eight years earlier, a silent short movie of Romeo and Juliet was filmed around Bethesda Fountain in Central Park in New York City. It was reportedly the first film version of the story made in America, but the film is now lost.
1957: West Side Story
Perhaps one of the most famous adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story replaces the feuding families with rival gangs, the Jets and Sharks, battling for control over the streets of 1960s New York. Tony, a Jet, and Maria, the sister of the Sharks' leader, are the tragic young lovers in this Broadway musical created by Jerome Robbins (concept), Leonard Bernstein (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and Arthur Laurents (book).
Many know West Side Story best, however, for the Best Picture Oscar-winning 1961 film adaptation starring Richard Beymer as Tony, Natalie Wood as Maria, and Rita Moreno as Anita. Steven Spielberg remade the movie musical in 2021 to critical acclaim, and that version starred Ansel Elgort, Zegler as Maria, and Ariana DeBose as Anita, winning an Oscar for the part like Moreno before her.
1996: Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet
Shakespeare’s classic — and the rousing 1976 pop-R&B anthem “Young Hearts Run Free” — found exhilarating new life in maximalist moviemaker Baz Luhrmann’s bold, modern reimagining of the play starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet.
On screen, it was the best of both worlds: The tragic love unfolded in a gritty, contemporary setting while retaining the original dialogue. Applauded for its innovative direction, stylistic visuals (Danes winging it as a “bright angel” is unforgettable), soaring soundtrack, and powerful performances, the film earned one Oscar nod for Best Art Direction. It grossed $147 million, 10 times its budget. A hit by any other name would smell as sweet!
1996: Love Is All There Is
Yes, more than one Romeo and Juliet-inspired film came out in '96, though Luhrmann's did overshadow its companion. Love Is All There Is, in which the lovers come from Italian families running rival eateries in the Bronx, is notable for being an early film credit of a then-21-year-old Angelina Jolie. (She's since ventured into theatre for real, winning a 2024 Tony Award for producing the Best Musical winner, The Outsiders.)
1998: Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare based his famous tragedy on an Italian tale, but screenwriters Marc Norman and five-time Tony winner Tom Stoppard (whose Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead was inspired by Hamlet) offer an alternate origin story.
Shakespeare in Love, a smart and at times swoon-worthy movie about the creative process, art, and societal constraints, imagines a fictional love affair between Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and a noblewoman named Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), which leads to the creation of Romeo and Juliet. The film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Paltrow, Best Supporting Actress for Judi Dench, and Best Original Screenplay.
2011: Gnomeo and Juliet
Disney’s animated kids' flick is about the out-of-bounds relationship between Gnomeo (James McAvoy) and Juliet (Emily Blunt), two adorable garden gnomes from rival families. Seriously. The movie musical proves that infinite takes on Shakespeare’s classic can blossom.
The A-list cast also included the late, great Maggie Smith as Lady Blueberry, a counterpart to Lady Montague. The vibrant soundtrack features songs by theatre veteran Elton John — listen to the composer and Lady Gaga cover “Hello Hello” from Gnomeo and Juliet above.
2011: Private Romeo
This all-male film adaptation recalls the old theatrical traditions of Shakespeare's time, when male actors played both men's and women's parts since women weren't allowed on stage. At the same time, the movie was progressive and forward-thinking.
Private Romeo takes place at a military academy, where two male students (played by Tony Award winner Matt Doyle and Broadway veteran Seth Numrich) are able express their love in the "don't ask, don't tell" era by performing Romeo and Juliet in class.
2013: Warm Bodies
Did you know this cult-favorite zombie film was inspired by Romeo and Juliet? Well, technically, it was based on Isaac Marion's 2010 novel Warm Bodies, itself based on the play. It took some brains, but Marion and director/screenwriter Jonathan Levine came up with the story of a human and a zombie who fall in love during the apocalypse. Surprisingly for a zombie flick, Warm Bodies contains more life and less death than the source material. Almost.
2019: & Juliet
Watching Shakespeare’s tragedy, you can’t help but wonder where the young lovers would have been if the messenger got Friar Lawrence’s lifesaving note to Romeo. No such luck.
& Juliet, meanwhile, is inspired by a different “what if.” Suppose Juliet decided not to kill herself after seeing Romeo’s lifeless body. That revitalizing idea was the starting point for the musical, written by Emmy-winning Schitt's Creek writer David West Read and scored with pop hits from the catalog of songwriter/music producer Max Martin. The earworms include “Since U Been Gone,” “Oops!… I Did It Again,” and “I Kissed a Girl.”
The show opened in England in 2019 and in 2022 on Broadway, where it was nominated for nine Tony Awards.
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2024: Romeo + Juliet
Forbidden love is a theme that never gets old, so 400-plus years later, the play remains relevant. It’s a cautionary reminder of how misunderstandings and hatred can jeopardize love and lead to devastating outcomes. Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler make their Broadway debut in this production that drives this point home with an all-around young cast and energetic music and dancing, all aimed at bringing the story to a new generation.
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Top and bottom image credit: Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor in Romeo + Juliet on Broadway. (Photos by Matthew Murphy)
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