A young woman once mused after falling in love with a forbidden man, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.”
“Jules” proves these classic lines from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to be true, as this modern retelling of the timeworn play features Rahim and Jules, two lovers with different namesakes than their original counterparts but boasting just as bittersweet a love affair.
The adaptation, which premiered on Sunday at the Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica, shifts the story from Verona, Italy to current day Kansas City, Mo., at a local high school. The dilemma comes from Jules’ background as a member of a conservative military family while Rahim stands in contrast as a liberal, pacifist Muslim.
Although the midwestern United States may seem like a complete departure from 16th century Italy, the essential conflict of two lovers torn between their loyalties remains.
“It was important to keep the certain magic between Romeo and Juliet, that certain love which is the reason all these tragic things happen,” director Davin Palmer said.
Juliana Moreno, who plays Jules, believes Shakespeare’s play is universal and will work in any time or place.
“A lot of the themes translate really well into a contemporary setting,” Moreno said. “That’s what makes “˜Romeo and Juliet’ such a classic story; it’s so relatable to current life.”
The original mixes with the new as settings change, but the themes remain constant. The famous balcony scene can still be found in “Jules,” but it takes place on a rooftop. The same essence of love and wooing remain in the adaptation.
Unlike the Shakespearian play, however, the story unfolds from Jules’ perspective, with a greater focus on her character.
“”˜Romeo and Juliet’ is more from the outside, but here in “˜Jules,’ you get a lot deeper insight into everything that makes up her world and what would lead her to take the actions that she does,” Moreno said.
The importance of presenting Jules’ point of view came from a significant plot twist in the adaptation.
“The idea for the production basically came about from the question, “˜What if Juliet knew Tybalt was going to kill Romeo?'” Palmer said.
Jules’ reaction to this knowledge provides another new facet to viewing the traditional love story.
Ajay Kasar Satpute, a psychology graduate student at UCLA, plays Rahim, the traditional Romeo role. Satpute describes Rahim as limited in his perspective, a flaw that all the characters in “Jules” stand guilty of.
“What drew me to his character was that he makes a lot of bad choices in the name of a higher cause, but at the same time, this gives him his human element,” Satpute said.
As a member of the group Shakespeare at UCLA, Satpute has gained experience acting in a number of Shakespearian productions, although this marks his first role as a Romeo figure. He describes his role as painful to rehearse at times.
“The role was a kind of a life experience. It’s hard to be Rahim; he’s spat on and beat up, so it’s not an easy task to play him,” Satpute said.
Moreno, who has played the traditional Juliet with the Will & Company theater group, found this role an invigorating change.
“I had already had experience with playing Juliet, but this is just a totally different challenge and a totally different departure to take her into this other world, this new world that we aren’t so familiar with,” she said. “In some ways, it’s more difficult, because it’s a lot closer to home.”
The concept of individuals, unwavering and impervious to any opinions differing from their own, infiltrates the play’s world and takes on an eerie parallel in today’s society.
“The central idea that I latched on to was how the left and right have divided this country,” Palmer said. “During the Iraq war, it was you’re either against the war or you’re for the war. There’s no talking and no room for debate.”
The hostilities that arise from the refusal to mediate lead to consequences for the characters that do indeed deem “Jules” a tragedy akin to “Romeo and Juliet.”
“It’s tragic, but not in the kind of body count tragic of “˜Romeo and Juliet.’ It’s more a tragic commentary about today’s society,” Palmer said.
Moreno hopes the message of “Jules” will resonate and stay with audiences long after the curtain closes.
“I hope seeing it will inspire people to have thoughts that they might not have had before and take a look at America, which is so divided right now into red states and blue states with the war in Iraq,” she said. “Rather than just hearing statistics on CNN, I hope it will lead people to re-evaluate how it is affpeople on a more personal level.”