The Eternal Youth of Romeo and Juliet

In her article Romeo And Juliet Trailer: The Girl From True Grit Is All Grown Up And Doomed, Katey Rich writes:

If you were a teenager 15 years ago, your definitive Romeo and Juliet were definitely Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. If you were a teenager 25 years before that, you were all about Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey from the 1968 version of the story. Now this Tumbl'd and Twitter'd generation of teens is getting their own tragic love story, with this new adaptation of Romeo & Juliet starring up-and-coming youngsters Hailee Steinfeld (an Oscar nominee forTrue Grit a few years back) and Douglas Booth.

Trailer (image credit)

Trailer (image credit)

Trailer (image credit)

Romeo and Juliet are the eternal youthful couple - impassioned and impetuous - so I never tire of them.  Here are productions I've seen: 

• Goodman Theater (Chicago).  The director set the play in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood, early 20th century.  Instead of a knife, the lovers used a gun in the end ... brutal.  
• American Ballet Theater (Chicago).  "Romeo and Juliet" in ballet was fabulous, and it gave me better insight on Mercutio's dark humor.  
• Shakespeare Globe (London).  I was on a business trip, and flew in on Sunday afternoon.  The concierge said there was only standing room left for the show that evening.  For £5, no problem.  

I am of the Franco Zeffirelli era, and especially fond of the performance of Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey.  Still, this latest production looks worth watching. 

But what matters, I think, is that our young people learn about "Romeo and Juliet" from the text itself and come to appreciate their timeless story.