Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler in 'Romeo + Juliet': See Photos

Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler have officially made their Broadway debuts in an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s infamous play, Romeo + Juliet.

Keep reading for photos from the star-studded (or should we say, star-crossed?) night:

Director Sam Gold gave audiences a bold, youthful take on the tragic story, with preview performances kicking off on Thursday, Sept. 26, at the Circle in the Square Theatre. The show’s opening night is set for Thursday, Oct. 24, with limited performances until Feb. 16, 2025.

Led by iconic Gen Z rising actors, the show also enlisted the help of Grammy winner (and longtime Taylor Swift collaborator) Jack Antonoff, who introduced original music to the piece.

The production is using the tagline “The Youth Are F—ed” and teases an angrier, bloodier and riskier take on the tale. The show also included a booth, urging showgoers to vote in the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election.

“With the presidential election coming up in November, I felt like making a show this fall that celebrates youth and hope, and unleashes the anger young people feel about the world they are inheriting,” the director shared in a statement.

Following the sold-out show, the cast met audience members out into the streets where DJ Amber Valentine was spinning at the Stage Door. Fans lined up for autographs and the chance to get another glimpse at the cast. Rachel, Kit and the company were then whisked to an underground party at See No Evil Pizza and Nothing Really Matters where the director toasted to them all.

Kit, 20, is best known for playing Nick Nelson in the Netflix teen series Heartstopper, with its third season coming out this October. The actor has also appeared as young Elton John in Rocketman and had roles in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Mercy and Little Joe.

Rachel, 23, has quite the impressive repertoire. Making her first-ever acting debut as María in Steven Spielberg‘s musical adaptation West Side Story, she was only 17 years old when she nabbed the iconic role, and later won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. In 2023, she starred in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as Lucy Gray Baird, and is set to play Snow White in the upcoming Disney live-action remake.

Scroll through our gallery below to see photos from the night:

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The Cast

The play’s full company includes Gabby Beans as Mercutio/The Friar, Tommy Dorfman as The Nurse/Tybalt, Nihar Duvvuri as Balthazar, Sola Fadiran as Capulet/Lady Capulet, Daniel Bravo Hernández as Abraham, Taheen Modak as Benvolio, Gían Pérez as Samson/Paris/Peter and Jasai Chase-Owens as Gregory.

The Star-Crossed Lovers

Rachel celebrated the first previews of the modern twist on the Shakespearean classic in an Instagram post on Saturday, September 28.

“[H]ow does it feel to get what you need? (it’s a strange kinda rush),” Rachel wrote alongside a slideshow of photos from the performances. “[I] have dreamed about being on broadway ever since i saw beauty and the beast at the lunt-fontanne when i was 4 years old,” she wrote, nothing that, although she always wanted to be on Broadway, “life had other plans for which i remain insanely grateful.”

The production urged young people to vote.

Rachel wrote in her Instagram post: “we are telling this story because we are living through times of worldwide trauma and desperately need to take an introspective look. what world are we leaving behind for our children? what hatred are we passing down to them? what if we replaced that hatred with an open mind? what if we dared to replace it with love? with understanding? with a willingness to listen? what if what we really need is to keep telling the story until we get it right?”