About the work
Romeo & Julia – Liebe ist alles ("Romeo & Juliet – Love Is Everything") is a musical by the composers and lyricists Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer (music together with Joshua Lange), freely after William Shakespeare's tragedy. It was premiered on 19 March 2023 at the Theater des Westens in Berlin. The piece tells the most famous love story in world literature as a modern pop musical with largely newly composed songs.
Plot
The feuding families Montague and Capulet dominate events when Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love at first sight. Against the hatred of their houses, against threat, quarrel and misunderstanding, the two set their unconditional love. But a chain of unlucky circumstances drives the young couple to catastrophe: believing they have lost one another, Romeo and Juliet choose death — and with their end shake the hardened fronts of their families.
Cultural significance
After the surprise success of "Ku’damm 56", the Plate/Sommer team confirmed with Romeo & Julia – Liebe ist alles its standing as a leading force in German-language musical theatre. The piece later gave rise to the spin-off "Die Amme". With catchy pop anthems and an emotional reading of the Shakespeare material, the production reached a broad audience.