Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor — the latest stars of the greatest love story of all time — met over DM
Throughout the play, the borg is carried by Sola Fadiran’s character, Capulet, as part of the overarching depiction of him as an “abusive father” to Juliet, Zegler says. But it also reflects the frame narrative of kids breaking in and using whatever props they can find to tell the story. For example, the “poison” Juliet drinks to fake her own death is acted out with an airplane bottle of Hennessy.
“We really wanted it to have this through line of, ‘Is it alcohol or is it poison?'” Zegler says.
In true borg culture, the jugs each feature a pun of the word “borg,” written in Sharpie. In the Oct. 8 show, the jugs read, “Did my heart borg ’til now?” and, “Borg and borg I come!” Translation: “Did my heart love till now?” and, “By and by, I come!”
Past examples include “William Shakesborg” and, “To borg, or not to borg.”
“Shakespeare would love them,” Connor jokes.
Costumes and accessories include sheer mesh tops, stuffed animal charms, a Hello Kitty backpack and a lime green tank top reminiscent of “Brat” summer, the fashion trend associated with Charli XCX’s latest album. Adding to the “Brat” theme, Zegler’s current Instagram bio is “I’m so Juliet.”
“Something that we try to do a lot … is create these incredibly dark, morbid moments with these things. (Gold) almost forces the audience to kind of laugh awkwardly,” Connor says.
But even the “awkward laugh” serves a purpose, Zegler notes.
“The awkward laugh is born from reminding you that they are kids,” she says. “It’s like the nurse talking about my virginity while I have a teddy bear strapped to my belt loops. It’s dark.”
The show also features some music moments, courtesy of Bleachers frontman and Taylor Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff. In addition to the pulsing synth beats that play during transitions and intense emotional peaks, there’s an upbeat disco pop song to score a party and a mournful ballad after Romeo’s exile, both sung by Zegler.
These pop culture and fashion moments are likely recognizable to people who self-identify as “chronically online” and/or were born after 2000. It’s led by Gen Z, seemingly for Gen Z.
“For me, in the same way you would approach any role that is tricky … you want to put yourself in their shoes and try to think about what they’re going through and relate in what ways you can and imagine in what ways your can’t,” Connor says.
The show’s tagline is, “The youth are f—ed.”
“It’s a story that really does center around what happens when parents tell their children, ‘We don’t like those people,'” Zegler says.
“It’s also just, you know, about the fact that young people make stupid decisions, and they have consequences. But it’s also, like — what are the kids saying? — it’s a canon event. It has to happen,” she adds.
First used in 2023’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” a canon event is a moment that must happen in someone’s life to ensure certain future events, according to Urban Dictionary.
In order for the Montagues and Capulets to settle their feud, Romeo and Juliet have to die, and for that to happen, Romeo has to be exiled, Tybalt slain, Mercutio murdered, and so on.
“It’s kind of like being doomed by the narrative,” Zegler says (another pop culture trope).
“It’s kids living in the world that they live in in their own minds,” Connor adds. “And for them, it is world-ending, the things that are happening to them.”
The ‘Romeo + Juliet’ fandom
Before their appearance on TODAY, Connor and Zegler went to sleep at 1:30 a.m. Weeknight performances of “Romeo + Juliet” start at around 8 p.m., and the “two hours’ traffic of our stage,” plus an intermission, put the final bow on the Oct. 8 show at about 10:30 p.m.
Then, outside the theater, hundreds of fans gathered behind a barricade, not unlike the front row of a concert, phones up and directed at the stage door. A theater manager walked in front of the crowds at the side of the theater, repeating, “There’s no guarantee they will make it down each side.”
Fans waiting at the stage door of a Broadway production for a photo or signature isn’t notable. Just ask the Circle in the Square’s neighbor, the Gershwin Theatre, home to “Wicked” since it opened in 2003.
But “Romeo + Juliet” hasn’t technically opened.
Since the first night of shows Sept. 26 – which drew nearly 1,000 fans — swarms have waited for the stars every night, indicated by fresh batches of videos posted to TikTok.
That doesn’t prevent Connor and Zegler from experiencing bouts of imposter syndrome, or the feeling that you aren’t as capable as people think you are.
Zegler says the last time she felt imposter syndrome was during her appearance on TODAY, when she was introduced as the winner of a Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture, comedy or musical for her role in “West Side Story.”
“It makes you shake your head and go, ‘That’s not me,'” she says.
“I know that I’m working hard, but have I worked hard to earn my name being really big on the marquee every day?” she adds. “That’s what my brain tells me.”
Similarly, Connor says, “I have it every day when I walk into the theater,” citing an element of comparison he makes between himself and his co-stars.
“You guys deserve to be here. I’m not sure if I do. But let’s try and convince them that I do,” he says.
So for now, they are making the most of it.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to earn a seat at this table,” Zegler says. “But I best do what I can with that seat.”