Hi Meltingpot Readers,
Did you know a new version of Romeo & Juliet was about to hit Broadway? And that in this new version, Romeo is White and Juliet is Black? And wait for it, Romeo is being played by the too delicious Orlando Bloom and Juliet is being portrayed by the ridiculously talented and supremely gorgeous Condola Rashad (Yes, that’s Phylicia “Claire Huxtable” Rashad’s daughter.)? I don’t know about you, but I always imagined that the type of hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets to be racially motivated. That was only way for me to wrap my teenage brain around their rivalry. According to the director, David Leveaux, his staging of the Shakespeare classic isn’t going to turn the show into a race war, but he’s not going to ignore the race of the two families – the Capulets will be all Black and the Montagues White. This Romeo and Juliet will have a modern setting, but Shakespeare’s original language will be retained. Previews for the show begin on August 24. The show officially opens on September 19.
When asked about why he chose to cast a Black Juliet opposite a White Romeo, Leveaux told the New York Times, “They could have been any number of different ethnicities, [but] the two actors I wanted to be together producing sparks just happened to be those two and I followed my nose in casting the families.” Ms. Meltingpot says bravo! Give the audience the best actors for the job, don’t ignore their racial differences and let the show go on.
I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing this show. And one of you lucky readers gets to see it too. That’s right. One of my readers will win a pair of tickets to see Romeo & Juliet on Broadway to be used on any Tuesday – Thursday performance in September! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite interracial romantic couple from literature or film. It’s that easy. I’ll pick the winner on Thursday evening August 22 at 8pm, so make sure you leave your comment before then. The winner will be announced on Friday’s post.
I’ll tell you my favorite interracial couple, but you probably already guessed. Aida and Radamés, of course. Your turn. I’m so listening.
Peace!
Comments
8 responses to “Romeo & Juliet Gets A Meltingpot Makeover on Broadway (& You Can Win Free Tix to See it!)”
I just went to Time Square this weekend and screamed when I saw the posters. I plan to see it as soon as I can!
Marisa,
The posters are delicious aren’t they? Please let us know what you think of the show.
I loved the modern take of Romeo and Juliet and most of all the acting prowess of Orlando bloom. In the process it clearly overshadowed Rashan who I think is not fitted for the Juliet character. The acting was a drag and I would suggest that she be changed before a lot of people sleep on the show. Thanks.
Thanks V, for the review. Hopefully Ms. Rashad will catch up with Bloom. A lot of people believe she is extremely talented. We’ll see.
I’m gonna go with more classic Shakespeare and say Othello and Desdemona. I just saw the show at The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre. Yes, yes, it ends terribly, but if not for Iago the couple would have had a beautiful marriage.
I think Tony and Maria definitely count. A few years back there was a revival of West Side Story on Broadway that was bilingual. It was really great. My vote is going to be for Olivia and Fitz from Scandal. Race isn’t the biggest problem in their relationship and I like seeing this unexpected conflict. Runner up is from one of my favorite books – Snow Falling on Cedars. Set during the internment of the Japanese in America the movie didn’t do the book justice but it’s a really moving love story.
I absolutely loved Memphis while it had it’s run! Montego Glover & Chad Kimball stole my heart with their love story. I did not get the chance to see it live, but have watched it on Netflix countless times – the score has you singing, and appreciating each one of the characters as they grace the stage:)
This revival reminded me a bit of that story. Hope that it’s just as good & folks turn out to see it (including me!).
I live in the NYC Metro area, so I had heard about this production and was curious about it. But, since I can’t afford that type of discretionary spending right now, I didn’t give myself much hope of seeing it anytime soon. So, it would be nice to win.
You took one of my favorite couples with your selection of Aida (I couldn’t remember the male lead’s name). (Back when I had more discretionary income) I had the pleasure of seeing Toni Braxton in the Aida role when she did it on Broadway. Outside of her singing, what I also loved about the play was that the story resonated with me, also, since I’m a Black American married to an Arabic Egyptian male (oh, the irony). So, I could relate to it on a couple of levels.
Since Aida has already been mentioned, another one of my perennial favorites is West Side Story, with the couple, Maria and Tony. (I’m not going to digress into the tangents of whether a few would argue whether this was really an interracial story or not, irregardless of Natalie Wood in the casting of Maria – I thought she did a fine job). I can almost never pass it up when it comes on tv. I’ve always loved it.