One woman's attempt to read all of Shakespeare's plays before she turns 40...preferably by the end of this year.
Or, more plays than you can shake a spear at.
Or, 365 days of "doths" and "thous."
Or, maybe this blog doesn't need a catchy title.
Sculpture of Romeo and Juliet at entrance to Delacorte Theatre in Central Park (which also features another sculpture of Prospero and Miranda from The Tempest). WHY IS JULIET SO NAKED? Sigh. Maybe I'm too old for Romeo&Juliet...I keep wanting to tell those crazy kids to put their damn clothes on and go back home with their parents already!
Of all of Shakespeare's plays, this is probably the one I remember best from the first time I read it. Actually, I'd probably read it at least three times before now, so it's no wonder that I remembered it so well. Plus, it was a play that really spoke to me as a twelve-to-seventeen-year-old, for obvious reasons. It's a play that will probably "speak" to 12- to 17-year-olds for years to come. This play is MADE for love-sick teenagers (for them, about them). Of course, as an adult, all those flowery speeches that I thought were SO romantic when I was a teenager seem ridiculous now. The language is still pretty, but all I can think is, "You just met! You're only kids! Listen to your parents and get back to bed! ALONE!" Then again, their parents in the play would have had them married off at that age, just to other people, so maybe their frantic professions of love were understandable. Lesson: Be careful who you forbid your children to date. Those little fuckers will end up getting married and killing themselves. On a related note, I feel very old now.
So I didn't include the new zombie Romeo and Juliet movie, Warm Bodies, in my "R&J film roundup" because two things: one, I didn't think it counted because really ANY quirky love story could claim to be a Romeo and Juliet thing; and two, I'm sick of zombies. But then I heard Rob Corddry say he plays a "Mercutio" character and I thought, well, if it's got Mercutio maybe it is Romeo and Juliet. Here's the trailer. What do you think?
This word cloud is a little different than the others in that it's all in black and white. I would have expected some words like "Romeo," "Juliet" or "love" to be in red LIKE BLOOD! Interesting to see how much more they say "Capulet" than "Montague" though. Oh just for the heck of it, I found a whole bunch more word clouds for Romeo and Juliet. You can see them after the jump.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the MOST adapted of Shakespeare's plays. Today, since it's Valentine's Day, let's take a look at some of the more notable adaptations: 1. West Side Story
One of my favourites is West Side Story. Oh Natalie Wood, how I miss you!
Watch "I Feel Pretty" on YouTube
2. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
There have been about a million film and stage versions of Romeo and Juliet (I know, I know, you like the Leonardo DiCaprio one). Remember this one?
That Olivia Hussey really looked WAY too young for all of this nonsense, which is exactly how I picture Juliet.
3. Romie-0 and Julie-8: Runaway Robots
And of course who can forget Romie-0 and Julie-8, about two androids in love? What's that, you say? Everyone? Everyone can.
4. "Romeo and Juliet," by Dire Straits
And of course, who can forget the classic song by Dire Straits? Actually, I always forget about it until I hear it, and then I think "Oh I LOVE this song. I forgot how much I love it!" Every time.
5. Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog
You think their story is any less tragic? You think their families would have any fewer objections? THEY'RE NOT EVEN THE SAME SPECIES! They know from star-crossed.
6. Romeo+Juliet (1996)
So this isn't one of my personal favourites but I'm sure it's high on a lot of people's lists. Oh, and speaking of... 7. Hot Fuzz (2007)
So it's not really a Romeo and Juliet story, but there is a scene in which an amateur theatre troupe does a production of Romeo and Juliet, except they do a stage version of the Baz Luhrmann movie. It's hilarious (I have a blog post about just that scene!). 8. "Romeo," by Dolly Parton
Remember this one? With Billy Ray Cyrus in the video? Tee hee. 9. Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)
I know nothing about this movie. Is it a love story with gnomes? I guess.
10. Every love story, ever.
Okay, not EVERY love story. Just the ones written in the last 500 years or so, in which the characters are either too young or too stupid to really know what they're doing, at least according to their parents, who hate each other for some reason that has to do with ancient feuds, gang violence or coming from "different worlds." Also, any love story that ends in suicide, real or otherwise. The list is virtually endless.
I know, I know, I said I wouldn't reference Romeo+Juliet again, but I said nothing about Hot Fuzz
Does anyone remember the scene in Hot Fuzz in which Simon Pegg and Nick Frost go to the theatre, only to discover the next day that the lead actors have been decapitated? Well, if you do, then you may also remember that the play they go to see is a stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's movie Romeo+Juliet. The actress playing Juliet (and wearing the Claire Danes wings the whole time) kills herself by holding a gun up to her head and loudly saying "BANG" and then the entire cast (including the once dead but now revived Romeo) start singing and dancing chorus-line-style to "Lovefool" by the Cardigans. It is awful and brilliant. And I'm totally counting it as a "Shakespeare film" now.
Hopefully this will be the only time I reference the ridiculous Romeo+Juliet
As if you didn't all see it coming, I'll be reading Romeo and Juliet just in time for Valentine's Day. In my defense, it was actually Mike's idea. Actually no, his first idea was Othello for Valentine's Day and I said no. So Romeo and Juliet it is!
I'm still slogging through The Merchant of Venice. "Slogging" is a terrible word. I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit, I'm just having trouble staying as motivated to read quickly as I had been. Maybe it's because Mike is a play behind and I can't talk about Shylock with him. Or maybe I'm just like the hare in that parable, lounging around because I feel I'm so far ahead in the race. Either way, here, enjoy some Shakespeare lego, courtesy of mocpages.com:
