The origins of EMU’s “U2 Romeo and Juliet” are humble but deep: Theater Professor and Director Justin Poole conceived an idea for a U2 based Romeo and Juliet adaptation following the tragedy of 9/11, and two decades later, when the recurring themes of both the play and the band were as relevant as ever, he approached Visual and Communication Arts Professor Jerry Holsopple about the project, who hopped on board.
After spending two to three weeks developing a script from opposite sides of the room, during the summer of 2020 and height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair submitted their mostly finalized proposal to Universal Music Group– the managing company of U2 and their discography– for approval and what seemed like would be an elongated process and a longshot chance of gaining their blessing, especially after the script was deferred by Universal Music and sent to the band itself. Less than two weeks later, though, “U2 Romeo and Juliet” was greenlit for a price much lower than is usual for use of a band’s music, and production took off.
Holsopple said, “It was crazy, because we sat there and said ‘well at least if they say no, we know Bono and the Edge were sitting there saying no, let’s not let the Mennonites do that,’ or something. But, getting them to also say yes is pretty phenomenal.”
Much of the production is influenced by the inherent nature of the Shakespeare story and the music of U2, both of which heavily revolve around a complex meditation on the human condition and the fragility and volatility of peace, empathy, and human emotion and compassion. This message is wrapped in the disorder, uncertainty, violence, and desperation that mirrors our own world, but also ultimately in ideals of reconciliation and hope.
The production was developed as a rock musical and carries all the traditional DNA of theater, but also adds in various complicating sensuous layers including a live band– Prince Bellerose–, singers, actors who are trained by dance and fight choreographers, and a set design that incorporates massive screens and programmed videos playing in sync to the action and music on stage.
Holsopple calls the play, “A rock concert with a story woven into it….You have the story of Romeo and Juliet, but we’ve also created another story, which is the story of culture, society getting along. And also, we’ve used the spirituality U2 has in their music, so you get all of these layers happening at the same time […] Because of all these layers, you don’t focus just on one thing, so you’re constantly being fed images, ideas, thoughts, visuals through all of those functions.”
The choice to blend the content of U2 and Romeo and Juliet is explained by Holsopple as trying to amplify the social and cultural implications and critiques of the source material, primarily that “it is about a deeper cultural phenomenon and the mere cost that it costs us to have this kind of divisions in our culture, meaning it costs us something great to maintain that, and at what point do we say the cost is too high for us not to make peace?”
Poole furthers this notion in his “Creators’ Notes”, suggesting that, “This is a play about the horrible things we do to each other and the need for us to advocate for peace and justice despite seemingly insurmountable odds…. This is a play about love overcoming hate.”Amid the grandiosity, sensual stimuli, and emotional core of the production, Holsopple says, “We’re trying to get people to think about this big metaphysical picture of what the reality is in our culture, and to say, ‘Is this cost really worth it?’”
