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Romeo and Jules is a play that was performed in Scream (2) that sparked controversy with parents and Becky Baker, due to its homosexual theme. It was first mentioned in Gives You Hell (1) (CAN) or Walking on Broken Glass (US).

Background[]

In Gives You Hell (1), Eli decided he wanted to produce another play for his college resume. He learned that Becky Baker had already given in a proposal so he had to work with her. He wanted to do Death of a Salesman but learned that Becky had already proposed Romeo and Juliet: The Musical.

In Gives You Hell (2), Becky and Eli were watching auditions for the play including Tori Santamaria and Tristan Milligan. While Becky is unimpressed by Tristan's audition, Eli was amazed, wanting Tristan in the play. When the two talked after the auditions, Becky didn't want Tristan in the play because he was gay. Then she left. Later, Eli told Tristan that Becky didn't believe he was right for the play, but Eli doesn't care, and wants to make him apart of it, turning the play into a play about a homosexual relationship, called Romeo and Jules, behind Becky's back. When Becky found out, she quit the drama department, stating that she will not be apart of a play that treats homosexuality like it is normal.

In Waterfalls (1), Asher Shostak visits the rehearsals, convinced by Clare to do an article on the play and its daring premise. Tori and Tristan can be seen singing their song while Dave dances next to them. The article is later scrapped when Clare runs away from Asher after he kisses her as they attempt to finish editing the piece.

In Scream (1), in an attempt to sabotage the play, the hockey team goes to the PTA with concerns about the suicide scene in the show. Eli at first believed that it was more of the same complaints about the two gay characters, but is informed by Simpson that the PTA would like to see the final scene. Upon watching with the others, he realized that he did need to change the scene. He comes up with the idea for the two souls of Romeo and Jules to be ripped away in the afterlife, showing that suicide will not bring them together, after all. He consults with Imogen and the two quickly modify the scene and props.

In Scream (2), it is opening night and despite Tristan almost missing the performance due to a cruel prank by Luke, Dallas, and the hockey team (minus Campbell and Owen), the musical was a roaring success and received a standing ovation. Becky initially offered to play Jules when nobody could find Tristan, complete with a false mustache to emphasize that Jules was a man, but joined the chorus for the final song of the night.

Cast[]

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Crew[]

Trivia[]

  • The Romeo and Jules song "Anything At All" is available on iTunes. You can also listen to it on YouTube.
  • Tickets were sold for $10 according to posters.
  • After the opening show, which was performed in Scream (2), there were seven more shows.
  • Eli had to change the play at the last minute. He also changed his previous play Love Roulette at the last minute.
  • Eli's version differs from Shakespeare's version in two major ways. This is significant because the original musical version was planned to be Degrassi's version under Becky's leadership. His adaptation involved:
    • The most obvious is featuring two male characters as the leads, and instead of a forbidden romance caused by feuding families, it's a forbidden romance caused by closed mindedness regarding same sex relationships.
    • In the end, to prevent suicidal themes being presented in a somewhat positive light in the play, the souls of Romeo and Jules are ripped apart in the afterlife instead of being together forever.
  • This was the second time Romeo and Juliet was adapted by Degrassi students. The first time was in The Mating Game when the eighth grade class had to perform the play for their English class. However, that version was not changed in major ways and it was not a major school production like Romeo and Jules was.
  • A poster of Romeo and Jules can be seen behind ZoĆ« in #BreakTheInternet.

Gallery[]

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