#even the lurhmann version didn’t do this shit as i recall

[cto10121]

Me: [lying on the therapist couch, gesticulating wildly] I just don’t get why so many productions have Romeo and especially Juliet be so damn hyper/cheerful before, during, and even after the ball (yeah, I’ve seen it live on stage in person. It was cringe as all hell). R&J are many things, but cheerful is not one of them. Romeo is gloomy as all hell, due to 1) Rosaline refusing to open her thighs, but also 2) the fact that he clearly doesn’t fit in with this feud-stricken life of Verona. Juliet isn’t gung-ho for this ball, either. She makes it understood that she doesn’t dream of marriage, so this whole “check out Paris and see if you like him” thing is pure business for her. Sure, she may have fun dancing, but she will still have to wrangle with her mother pushing Paris on her. Instead of trying to make R&J into the glib extroverts they’re not, why not play up their alienation? Have Juliet dance boring stately dances with several men. Have her practiced smiles disappear when she thinks no one is looking. Have Romeo be the only one not dancing. Have Juliet be the one dancing but looking longingly out into the crowd. Have her see Romeo, and Romeo see her. Let them experience true happiness when they are together, let them gush them. Otherwise, you just paint them as silly, stupid teenagers whose romance is just one capricious party hook-up turned deadly.

Therapist: Which is, of course, the intention behind this change.

Me: Bingo.