Over the past 24 years, the 2001 remake of The Fast and the Furious has spawned nine sequels, one spin-off and the single worst theme park attraction in Universal Orlando’s history. Now, you can also credit (or blame) Vin Diesel for The Vexed and the Vigorous: Verona Shift, the gender-bent mashup of muscle cars and Mercutio’s colon that you never knew you needed
Rom Mendoza (Axandre Lemours), broken-hearted after his beau was smushed by a Greyhound bus, is convinced by his crew to race for pink slips against their enemies, the Capuletti family. But when he meets-cute with Jules (Kyle Cameron), the rivals soon become ride-or-dies, after declaring their love in a turbo-charged twist on the iconic balcony scene.
Canadian writer-director Patrice Forbes has cleverly transplanted Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet into the cinematic world of underground street racing, not unlike Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film, but even more explicitly queer. The ridiculous rhyming script stirs street slang into the Shakespearean soliloquies, so a famous quote like “Parting is such sweet sorrow” becomes contemporized into “Leaving you is harder than drifting in a Hyundai.”
Flush with funny props and souped-up sight gags, the show’s DIY special effects include copious strobe lights, smoke and even a flipping race car made from a children’s bed, while high-speed stunts are substituted with silly steering-wheel choreography. However, some slack scene transitions and sloppy fight choreography could be far faster and furious-er, and an extended scene with an over-the-top Captain Prince (Jeannie MacRae) drags on endlessly just as the show should be accelerating toward its denouement. Despite those detours, this lark about lane-crossed lovers should get the greenlight from “family” fans, and also have Shakespeare lovers hoisting a Corona and shouting “Turn down thy what?”
The Vexed and the Vigorous: Verona Shift
Orange Venue, Lowndes Shakespeare Center
60 minutes; 13 & up
$15
Get tickets
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This article appears in May 14-20, 2025.