Its a Sunday afternoon in springtime London, andRachel ZeglerandKit Connorare standing on a park bench in Primrose Hill.
Im pretty much off-book, Connor replies with a grin, and the pair high-five.
Are you nervous, though?
THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSEKit Connor wears a Gucci jacket and Paul Smith pants. Rachel Zegler wears a Coach top and skirt. Joomi Lim choker. Pamela Love earring.Fashion Editor: Julia Sarr-Jamois. Vogue,September 2024.
Oh, yeah, Connor says.
The tagline for the show?
The youth are f**ked.
ON THE FENCEZegler grins in a Versace dress. Connor swings in a Wales Bonner jacket. Joomi Lim choker. Pamela Love earring.Fashion Editor: Julia Sarr-Jamois. Photographed by Thurstan Redding.
As soon as the photo shoot is over, theyre in a black cab to Piccadilly.
The entire balance of success hangs on the chemistry between those two people, Gold acknowledges.
And when I cast them, they didnt really know each other.
LEAN INConnor wears a Ferragamo sweater, pants, and shoes.
(The musician behindBleachers,Jack Antonoff, will be writing an original score for the production.)
Thankfully, both actors have a history when it comes to delivering chemistry.
Thats the best thing about the job, Connor notes.
PROP UPZegler wears a Simone Rocha shirt and skirt. Vivienne Westwood shoes. Pantherella socks. Micah Antoni earrings, Joomi Lim choker and Ben-Amun by Isaac Manevitz necklace.
You meet someone, and they go, Stare longingly into their eyes.
Touch each others hair.
Zegler adds: Hey, youre in love: go!
MODERN MAESTRO“He was the first collaborator I thought of,” says director Sam Gold of composer Jack Antonoff, pictured here. The Row jacket and pants. Margaret Howell shirt and tie.Grooming, Inna Shats. Fashion Editor: Max Ortega. Photographed by Andrew Jacobs.
LEAN INConnor wears a Ferragamo sweater, pants, and shoes.
Neither actor has appeared on stage since they were teenagers.
So why did they want to return to the theater now?
Im a very different actor than I was when I was 14.
Zegler is referring toWest Side Story,of course, where her character is based directly on Shakespeares Juliet.
Gold advised her that she could use her familiarity with the character to her advantage.
But I cant believe this is my life.
PROP UPZegler wears a Simone Rocha shirt and skirt.
Micah Antoni earrings, Joomi Lim choker and Ben-Amun by Isaac Manevitz necklace.
Earlier this year, a buzzy, Tom Hollandfronted version opened in London, directed by Jamie Lloyd.
Its a very different thing.
Its a big ask.
Golds main coconspirator on the projectalong with choreographer Sonya Tayeh, best known for her Tony-winning work onMoulin Rouge!
The Musicalis the maverick pop producer Antonoff.
Those recordings have become my bible, he says.
When I think youth, I just think of freedom.
They can be incredibly hopeful because they havent had their dreams crushed.
Sometimes what we quantify as youth is actually just hope.
Hopemight not be the first word that springs to mind when confronted with the shows bracing tagline.
Its a very new, strange, difficult time in cultural history, Gold acknowledges.
The mode in which we receive our stories is drastically shifting.
Were opening the play a week before people go to the polls to vote.
Unsurprisingly, the timeliness of the play has been top of mind for her.
I think Sam has really taken that to heart: What world are we leaving behind for future generations?
Its ballsy, I think.
Just the play itselfits ballsy.
Zegler contends the tagline is hopeful, despite it all.
The youth are fucked if the older generation doesnt do anything about it, she says.
And so you hope that it serves more as a warning than as a declaration.
For Gold, it should be galvanizing.
Its a play that leaps out from behind literature and connects to popular culture, he says.
Its not just about the youth being fucked: its about unity, Connor says.
This is a love story, Zegler adds.
Then Connor, with mock sincerity: Im not sure if youre aware: This is a love story.
Zegler theatrically pulls out a pen and paper.
you’re able to add my name there.
At that, the two erupt into laughter.
If Connor and Zegler have anything to do with it, the kids will be alright.
