“We’ve set out to tell the greatest love story of all time, set to the musical pulse of our time. But Shakespeare only told part of that remarkable tale, whose events changed the course of history!” says writer-director Timothy Scott Bogart of Juliet & Romeo, a bold reimagining of the real-life events that inspired Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy.
Set in 1301, at the end of the Middle Ages, Juliet & Romeo launches a revolutionary Pop Musical trilogy, based on a play by William Shakespeare with original Songs and music from Grammy-Winner, Evan Kidd Bogart (Beyonce’s “Halo” / Rihanna’s “SOS”),
In Juliet & Romeo, Romeo and Juliet as more than just star-crossed lovers — they are pivotal figures in the birth of the Italian Renaissance.
Forced to flee Verona as rival forces clash, they uncover a far greater conflict brewing beyond their city walls. The Holy Roman Empire and the Church, under the tyrannical rule of Pope Boniface, are locked in a power struggle that will shape the future of Europe. Escaping to Rome, Juliet and Romeo join forces with some of history’s most iconic figures—including Dante Alighieri—on a daring quest to challenge Pope Boniface’s brutal campaign for absolute control. As they navigate battles, betrayals, and shifting allegiances, their love becomes the driving force behind a revolution that will change the world forever.
Leaving behind the poetry of iambic pentameter, Juliet & Romeo reimagines this timeless tale with a fresh, contemporary edge—infusing its high-stakes drama with the electrifying power of modern pop music. This is Romeo & Juliet as it’s never been seen before — where love defies destiny, history is rewritten, and music becomes the language of rebellion.
When star-crossed lovers Juliet and Romeo defy their fate and escape Verona, they are thrust into a battle for the soul of Italy. As the Holy Roman Empire and the Church, ruled by the ruthless Pope Boniface, wage war for ultimate control, Juliet and Romeo find themselves at the heart of a revolution that will shape history. Partnering with iconic figures like Dante Alighieri, they must navigate political intrigue, forbidden alliances, and the raw power of music to fight for a future where love conquers all. A revolutionary Pop Musical set at the dawn of the Renaissance, Juliet & Romeo transforms the world’s most legendary romance into an electrifying saga of rebellion, passion, and destiny. The cast includes: Clara Rugaard, Jamie Ward, Jason Isaacs, Tayla Parx, Dan Fogler, Nicholas Podany, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Rupert Graves, Martina Ortiz Luis with Rebel Wilson, Rupert Everett and Derek Jacobi.
A note from Timothy Scott Bogart, Writer/Director
This was my first interaction with William Shakespeare, and it would become a driving
creative influence in my life. The themes took hold immediately… Love… Rebellion… Family… Fate… War…
Destiny… And those three words… “Star-Crossed Lovers…” they had become part of the cultural
zeitgeist in every city, in every country, around the world. This was the stuff of great character, and tremendous plot, and whether it’s been as a play, a ballet, an opera, or as a movie, it’s why the Bard’s greatest love story of all time has continued to entertain audiences for nearly five hundred years.
Shakespeare had written the original, and most successful, YA story of all time!”
“In a world where Harry Potter has sold over six hundred million books, where The Hunger Games have sold over a hundred million, where Twilight has sold over a hundred and sixty million and Dune, has now sold over 20 million. For Shakespeare’s, “Romeo & Juliet”, they stopped even trying to count, with estimated sales exceedingly well into the billions. Having been adapted thousands of times, in more than 100 different languages, virtually no one on Earth doesn’t know the story of “Romeo & Juliet.” It is, by nearly all measures, the most widely read and universally adored story in literature, not including the Bible.
“Romeo & Juliet is one of the most romantic stories ever told. And the challenge for any storyteller is to find a different color that they can add. To work from a different palette. To me, what Shakespeare did was to express the poetry of his time. So, in searching for the poetry of our time, we turn to music… Original, Pop Music, as a way to truly dive into our character’s journeys – which I believe makes our film different than any other version that’s ever been done before.”
Re-Imagining Romeo & Juliet – A note from Timothy Scott Bogart
More than a decade ago, I was having coffee with my brother Evan, the genius who co wrote “Halo” for Beyonce, discovered Rihanna and Lizzo among others, and has an endless string of pop music hits to his name, the likes of which any major songwriter could only dream of.
We were discussing the power of music and why pop songs, specifically, had a way of crawling under our skin and staying there forever.
My brother’s answer was shockingly simple; “because that’s our poetry.” When we’re in love, when we’re heartbroken, when we’re feeling betrayed, when we’re roused to fight – there’s always a song we can turn up loud and belt from our souls. And we’ll feel better!
It was amazing how simple and specific his answer was.
We feel music, we don’t think it. And younger people, want to feel, far more than they want to think.
It was in that moment that my head, and my heart, returned to Shakespeare. If his writing was the poetry of his time, what if we were to use the poetry of our time, to reach this new, and ever-expanding audience?
What if we made Romeo & Juliet a truly original Pop Musical?
The idea our characters soaring through song to express their true, inner passions and struggles, felt like a version I had just never seen before. All at the heart of the greatest love story ever told. And so, I began to write. Our vision was a world that would be driven by a visceral energy, filmed in real Castles, on real horses, on real mountaintops – shooting in the rain and the snow – all to give an immediacy and a reality that had never truly been tackled before.
We’re making it a muscular piece, throwing our characters into the real world. We were not shooting on a sound stage. They are really riding on horseback, riding on mountaintops, they are really racing through castles. We were shooting in the winter, with snow, with rain, in the mud. Placing them in what was very likely the real world of 1301 where these two families actually battled.
From the very start, the film I envisioned was one of empowerment. And yes, female empowerment, specifically, in a story that rarely has attempted to do so. And yet, for me, that’s the only reason to do it all. To be sure, for our story – and our Franchise – the very question of whether Romeo & Juliet are doomed to their pre-determined destinies is right at the core of the way we’ve approached everything.
A reimagining… of the central arc and the evolution of the tale.
But whether Romeo & Juliet, or the other characters, ultimately defy fate and destiny – the fact that they are all caught right in the storm of struggling against it, was always crucial to illustrate and get right.
Yes, it’s the 1300s, but our Romeo & Juliet is always about empowerment. In every moment and on every frame.
And to understand empowerment, I felt we first needed to understand the struggle for it by the main characters.
“I’ve always thought there are two kinds of musicals… the first, where there’s a Milkman who clearly knows he’s in a musical – and even his cow seems to know he’s in a musical! It’s not a real world – and I’ve always found that a little distancing. Then there’s the world where the music is such an integral driver, that one can’t help but lose themselves to a different connection to it all. That’s the musical I hope we’ve made. Where the inner emotional truths of these characters is what we see come to life in song. Drawing inspiration from virtually everywhere, from Wicked and The Greatest Showman, to Sweeney Todd, Les Miz and more – the inspiration ultimately came from finding where the music and the moments in those other films suddenly became something more than just song and dance – and revealed themselves to be the core emotional truth as the compass to it all.”
Note from Evan Kidd Bogart, Executive Music Producer, Songwriter.
We’re not trying to write a musical. I think that’s a really big distinction. We’re writing hit songs for the radio, based on these characters and bringing them to light in a brand new way. I feel like song is an extension of the scene, and weaves in and out of the storytelling. The emotion becomes so overwhelming, it’s just bursting to get out of their skin – that they have to just start singing. Music exists in this world, so it’s a musical world. But that’s different than a movie musical.
Timothy Scott Bogart is a producer, writer, and director known for films such as The Last Full Measure (2019) and Spinning Gold (2023). He is the son of Neil Bogart, the founder of Casablanca Records, and the brother of record producer Evan Bogart. Bogart has worked on various projects across film and television, including Majors & Minors, Platinum Hit, and Life Flight: Trauma Center Houston[2^]. His most recent work, Spinning Gold, is a biographical drama about his father’s career in the music industry.
Timothy Scott Bogart and Evan Kidd Bogart are brothers. They are both sons of Neil Bogart, the founder of Casablanca Records. Evan Kidd Bogart is a songwriter, music publisher, and record executive known for his work in the music industry, including writing Beyoncé’s hit song Halo. Timothy Scott Bogart, on the other hand, is a filmmaker and producer, most recently known for directing Spinning Gold, a biopic about their father.
