CSC Gives ‘Romeo & Juliet’ a Funky Socially Conscious 1970s Twist

Some stories, the best stories, never fade away. Romeo & Juliet is set to return, infused with funk and soul rhythms, recounting a story as enduring as it is touching. This new and unique adaptation is set against the backdrop of 1975–a vibrant time shadowed by conflict. 

According to DC Theater Arts, the new script trims away parts of the original. While shorter, this empowers it to amplify its themes through the textured lens of racial and LGBTQ+ dynamics. The core of the story remains—we have the star-crossed lovers, the feuding families, and the tragic destiny—while engaging with the background of the social struggles of the 1970s.

Whereas Shakespeare’s famous play pits two families against each other in a fight for love, Baltimore’s Chesapeake Shakespeare Company Theater’s adaptation looks at it from a racial point of view. This extends into the exploration of women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights, giving us a triad of topics that were just as important then as they are now.

The story’s original themes are patently timeless, and the struggle for individual rights and love against societal norms and taboos is something that many today will relate to. Gerrad Alex Taylor, a former CSC Associate Artistic Director, noted in a CSC article that these universal threads of the narrative may prompt us to “find connections with each other that transcend 2024, 1975, and even 1597.” 

The adaptation’s unique time and place necessitates a fresh look at Shakespearean English, a form of Early Modern English. Shakespeare’s style often delivered wit, wordplay, slang, and puns, many of which are dated to his time. However, the adaptation will use language from the 1970s, a period rich in its own linguistic quirks, to try and capture the spirit of Shakespeare’s meaning as well as that of the 1970s, inviting the audience on a journey of nostalgia and intrigue.

The change in language ought to give it an earthy and rhythm-like quality, matching the use of disco, which also takes center stage as a status-quo-fighting musical trend of the time.

CSC’s adaptation tells a story that is as profoundly relevant today as it was decades ago (and even centuries ago). There is almost a pledge not just to revive Shakespeare’s classic tale but to work with a daring reinterpretation steeped in the socio-cultural patchwork of conflict that defined the 1970s.

According to the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company website, the production will run until May 12. Liam Kinna is cast as Romeo, and Arielle Moore as Juliet.