Rómeó és Júlia

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Name: Roméo et Juliette (French), Romeo es Julia (Hungarian), 로미오와 줄리엣 (Korean), Ромео и Джульетта (Russian), Romeo a Julie (Czech), רומאו ויוליה המחזמר (Hebrew), Romeo y Julieta (Spanish), Romeo e Giulietta (Italian),「ロミオとジュリエット」(Japanese), Romeo en Julia (Dutch), Romeo und Julia (German), Rómeo a Júlia (Slovakian), Romeo i Julia (Polish), Ромео Жульетта (Mongolian)
Abbreviation(s): RetJ, ResJ, etc.
Creator: Gerard Presgurvic
Date(s): January 19, 2001 (first production)
Medium: Musical
Country of Origin: Originated in France
External Links: Roméo et Juliette (musical) at Wikipedia
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Roméo et Juliette, also known as Rómeó és Júlia or by other translations and sometimes referred to as Romeo and Juliet: the Musical to avoid confusion, is a musical based around the stage play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It takes the general plot of Romeo and Juliet and sets many parts of it to music. Unlike some musical adaptations of preexisting plays or movies, in addition to telling the central story of the two main characters, it expands significantly on the stories of side characters. In particular, it adds more focus and depth to the characters of Romeo's friends Mercutio and Benvolio and Juliet's cousin Tybalt. It also allots more focus to the parents, especially Lady Capulet and Lady Montague, and to the Nurse.

Some versions feature occasional appearances by "figurative" characters, such as personifications of "death" or "love" as actors, but how much they appear and their exact roles vary significantly between versions, as do other elements of staging.

Canon and Versions

The musical was originally written in French for performance in Paris. It has been translated many times and performed in many countries, including various European nations, China, Taiwan, and Japan (on a variety of stages, including Toho and the Tarazuka). Translating between languages sometimes requires slight changes rather than a literal translation, especially for songs and poems. There are also differences in staging between runs and versions. Many fans are more partial to one or another. Many fans are fascinated by the differences between lyrics or versions.

Roméo et Juliette: de la Haine à l'Amour

The original French version adds scenes, absent or briefer in the play, to display Lady Montague and Lady Capulet's frustration with the ongoing feud, the Nurse's deep feelings of maternal pride in Juliet, and Lord Capulet's paternal feelings toward Juliet. Mercutio is described as insane and will admit to it but is portrayed as sophisticated and also believes the others are repressed in ways which he is not. It may be hinted that he is bisexual and attracted to Romeo and possibly also Benvolio and Tybalt. Tybalt is frustrated with Verona, feels like a weapon of his family, and secretly harbors an incestuous crush on his cousin Juliet which he does not plan to act on. Cécilia Cara, who plays Juliet, is perhaps the best-liked Juliet in the fandom.

The Hungarian and Romanian Versions

The Hungarian and Romanian versions, which have some differences from each other, have a lot of overlap and both modify the script and story more than most others. The Romanian/Hungarian version rearranges the order of several of the main songs, adds one or two, removes some, and rewrites some significantly to add to and highlight certain themes. It expands on Tybalt and Benvolio, reshapes Mercutio somewhat, and changes the dynamic between the Ladies Capulet and Montague: Tybalt has psychosomatic[1] seizures, which add additional stakes to his emotional volatility; Benvolio is entrusted with bringing a letter to Romeo by Friar Lawrence; Mercutio's solo songs are cut, his mental illness is not mentioned, some new lines for him are added, and his bisexuality is further hinted at by a drunken kiss to Romeo and a stated desire to kiss Benvolio; and the Ladies have more hostile confrontations.[2][3] The symbolic characters, like Death and Love, are omitted.

There are many people who are interested in or specifically prefer to focus on "The Hungarian Version", and Rómeó és Júlia, or ResJ, serves as a significant subfandom within the overall fandom.

Other Versions

Romeo e Giulietta - Ama e Cambia il Mondo, the Italian version, is known for Mercutio's death scene, in which he passionately kisses Romeo on the lips before dying, making it popular among Rocutio shippers.

Roméo et Juliette: Les infants de Vérone, the French revival, is divisive in the fandom. John Eyzen's portrayal of Mercutio is one of the most popular, though some criticize it as too over-the-top, but many believe that the musical overall is not as good as the original.[4]

Fandom

In General

Many fans are specifically interested in Mercutio, Tybalt, or both. The most popular versions of them in fan art are based off their appearances in Roméo et Juliette: Les infants de Vérone, the French revival, and Rómeó és Júlia.

Tycutio is the most common ship. Other common ships include Romeo/Juliet, Mercutio/Romeo, and Benvolio/Mercutio, with the first canon and popular in all, the second particularly popular among fans of the Italian version, and the third found in all subfandoms and dominant in the Toho Stage productions' subfandom.

Hungarian Subfandom

This is also often part of the more general foreign language/English Romanian and Hungarian musical theater fandom, which heavily focuses on ResJ, Mozart! Das Musical, Elisabeth Das Musical, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, among other musicals. This is often called "Sparkly Hungarian Fandom" as a joke, since it focuses heavily on the Hungarian Operettszinhaz. The Hungarian Operettszinhaz is regarded as good and frequently provides captions and translations into other languages, such as Russian, German, and English. They also tend to use somewhat more glitter than usual and more fire and pyrotechnic effects on stage, making things "sparkly" and or "bright"-- thus, Sparkly Hungarians. There's a fair bit of fan interest there and some RPF elements, sometimes for the two leads from the original production, Janza Cata and Dolhai Atilla, but especially for Szylveszter Szabó, the singer who plays Tybalt. Szabó, who is well known and liked, tends to be cast as villainous characters, is considered handsome, and has large vocal range (and apparently patience with fans). Though others may have one as well, there are definitely strong arguments for him having a decently sized RPF fandom which feeds into, and perhaps overlaps with, the ResJ fandom.

Some fans are specifically interested in Tybalt's disability (a seizure condition), whether from a hurt/comfort or whump angle, wanting to explore disability and its place in society further, or for other reasons, including standard plot reasons.

Example Fanworks

Fandom Introductions

Fanfic

Fanart

Miscellaneous

Archives & Links

  1. ^ Something I don’t think a lot of people realize is the fact that (I’m pretty sure) Rómeó és Júlia’s Tybalt has psychosomatic seizures, not epileptic. analysis by @giuliettacapuletti
  2. ^ Lady Montague and Lady Capulet in every other version of La Haine: by @is-this-taken-too-questionmark
  3. ^ as a firm believer that fictional women should get to be terrible people, I LOVE how the Hungarian version adapted La Haine so much. by @dramatic-dolphin
  4. ^ discourse between @hell-heron and @cto10121
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