Review: A Queer Coming of Age Story in "Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves"

Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves

Written by Gina Femia

Directed by Scott Ebersold

Presented by Boomerang Theatre Company at A.R.T./New York Theatres

502 West 53rd Street, 3rd Floor, Manhattan, NYC

November 8-24, 2024

Leah Nicole Raymond and Stacey Raymond. Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum
Gina Femia’s Mercutio Loves Romeo Loves Juliet Loves takes Shakespeare’s most famous star-crossed adolescent lovers both as subject matter and inspiration for its own plot. Rehearsing Romeo and Juliet in their all-girls Catholic high school unexpectedly provides Ellie/Mercutio (Leah Nicole Raymond) and Britt/Romeo (Stacey Raymond), best friends and theater geeks, as well as Amber/Juliet (Rocky Vega), injured cheerleader and first-time thespian, with the venue in which to work out their feelings for each other and the implications of those feelings for their sexuality. Set against the backdrop of a phenomenal late-90s/early-2000s soundtrack, the production hearkens to a time that was simultaneously simpler and more complex for such adolescent exploration; Ellie, Britt, and Amber do not have to deal with the ever-looming presence of smart phones and social media as they attempt to work out their feelings, but they also lack more nuanced and accurate language for different sexual and gender identities they would have access to today.

Leah Nicole Raymond and Stacey Raymond. Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum
Ellie and Britt are lifelong friends who proudly flout the hierarchy of their high school that deems the cheerleaders the social elite. Openly gay Britt is in some ways the more self-aware and confident of the two, as it is only being unexpectedly cast in the lesser role of Mercutio and not as a lead that gives Ellie the space and opportunity to realize her feelings for Britt. Yet Britt, too, is on a journey of self-discovery, as she chafes against not only the obvious constraints of all-girls Catholic school but also the norms of her long-time friendship with Ellie. These feelings come to a head when Britt abandons Ellie and their plan to dress as zombie cheerleaders for the Halloween dance, a plan she can’t get behind because she is loathe to wear a skirt even as a costume. Instead, Britt joins forces with Amber to wear their Romeo and Juliet costumes and dance together, thereby trouncing on the school administration’s homophobic decree against girls dancing with one another.

 Stacey Raymond and Rocky Vega. Photo by Isaiah Tanenbaum
The resulting cancellation of Romeo and Juliet heightens the tension among the three, which ultimately erupts at an alcohol-fueled sleepover. Britt reveals her feelings for the openly bisexual Amber, feelings that are not reciprocated—Amber has feelings for Ellie. When Britt walks in on Amber kissing Ellie, the lifelong friendship is ruined, but Ellie is able to finally unburden herself of all of her repressed feelings and own her sexual identity. Any potential romantic relationships among the three are as doomed as Romeo and Juliet’s, though the play’s concluding scene suggests that the lessons learned inform future relationships for Ellie, Britt, and Amber. Each stands facing the audience, relating snippets of their post-high school lives and loves, no longer friends but clearly irrevocably changed by the time spent together. Combined with memorable lighter moments, such as an almost campy rendition of the theme song from Sailor Moon that precedes the sleepover scene, the play’s conclusion is an astute reminder of the inescapable influence of our adolescent experiences even when we think we have left them behind completely.

-Stephanie Pietros

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