Notably invoked, that Romeo isn't the broody, wangstingEmo Teen he is in Shakespeare, but just a sensitive young guy who dreams of one day finding someone to love and share his life with.
Tybalt is in love with his cousin, Juliet, so his motivation switches from petty battle lust to romantic jealousy. Depending on the version, Tybalt murdering Mercutio may be an accident or completely deliberate. How he reacts also can vary anywhere between gloating and actual catatonia.
So far, Mercutio has had three settings: a simple womanising fun loving man, an otherworldly willing agent of chaos, or a man driven by unrequited love for his best friend.
Cry for the Devil: "C'est pas ma faute" ("It's Not My Fault") is, er, supposed to be this for Tybalt, though it comes off rather shallow and whiny in most versions. The Russian translation made it less a shallow play for sympathy and more of a Villainous Lament, the Belgian is a bitter, self-loathing rant, and the Hungarian version made it... well, see below in the Hungarian section.
Ending Fatigue: Largely brought on by everyone and everything having a ballad attached to it after the halfway mark in Act II. (The Hungarian version rectified this, see below.)
Vienna production - Mercutio tells Tybalt (Mark Seibert) "your death will come soon" and that he "will not grow old". Dramatic Irony for the audience familiar with the original play, yes, in that Tybalt does die in the show. In real life, though? The next role Seibert plays after Tybalt is Fiyero in Wicked, who is accidentally made an immortal and indestructible scarecrow. A few years later, he actually plays Death himself in Elisabeth, alongside Lukas Perman (Romeo) as Prince Rudolf. And then Seibert, Perman, and Marjan Shaki (Julia) went on to play undead characters in Tanz Der Vampire.
In Schikaneder, Seibert (as Schikaneder) stood in for Romeo during the balcony scene while an actress auditions for his troupe.
The red and blue color schemes being used to depict the Capulets and Montagues respectfully. In 2011, Gnomeo & Juliet would use the exact same colors for the same households.
Hamilton fans might find Mercutio's parting words to Romeo in the Italian adaptation accidentally hilarious and tearjerking at the same time. "My love, take your time. I'll see you on the other side. Raise a glass to freedom..."
Takarazuka, Moon Troupe's 2012 production had Tamaki Ryou playing Death. Cut to six years later, and Tama!Death returns in Moon Troupe's Elisabeth 2018 production, with Manaki Reika (Juliette) as Sisi.
While the original production was comparatively restrained, the revival had a Mercutio and Tybalt who seemed desperate to out-cartoon each other and kill any drama, with the help of Tom Ross' downright bizarre delivery of his lines and Eyzen's Mark Hamill-esque cackling.
The Italian version borders on Narm Charm. We get perpetually shirtless Khal Escalus, a Tybalt who is introduced drawing a scar on his face with eyeliner to look tougher, an extremely high strung and overdramatic Mercutio who may outrank Harold Perrineau in sheer hamminess, and inexplicable red globe headed ladies that Tybalt may have hallucinated. Also, Les Rois du Monde is an outright Village People production.
People familiar with real-life couple Lukas Perman and Marjan Shaki from the Vienna revival of Tanz Der Vampire, in which they play Alfred and Sarah, are likely to have this reaction to seeing them in the Austrian video as Romeo and Juliet.
In the Vienna production of Romeo und Julia, Lukas Perman's character kills Mark Seibert's character. In the Vienna revival of Elisabeth, Mark Seibert's character kills Lukas Perman's character.
Signature Song: It's a tossup between the universally beloved Les Rois du Monde and the more maligned Aimer.
WTH, Costuming Department?: Almost everything in the Austrian adaptation. The worst offender to fashion sensibilities has to be the white feather monstrosity that was on Tybalt for the ball.
The Hungarian/Romanian adaptation
Alternate Character Interpretation, even compared to the other versions. Lady Capulet is a wildly unfaithful wife (and later, a heavy drinker). She and Lady Montague aren't above having vicious verbal catfights in the streets. Tybalt is a deeply damaged man suffering from epilepsy, a severe madonna/whore complex, and UST with his aunt (and has his French counterpart's love for Juliet warped into a bizarre obsession with her purity, to the point where he thinks even he should never touch her), and who welcomes death when Romeo kills him.
Ensemble Dark Horse: While Mercutio and Tybalt usually steal the spotlight in any adaptation, Archive of Our Own has more hits for the Rómeó és Júlia adaptation of their characters than any other.
Funny Moments: Despite the generally Darker and Edgier tone, some of the added dialogue enters here. Probably the best addition is the scene with Mercutio, Benvolio, and Romeo, after they escaped the ball. They half-jokingly discuss that Romeo's life is not worth betting on, to which Romeo answers that the flight (the feeling of the stolen kiss) was worth it regardless. Benvolio suggests that the girl must have used some kind of potion on her lips that made Romeo delusional. Mercutio walks up to Romeo, exclaims that he also wants to fly, and quickly kisses him on the lips. Afterwards he briefly pretends to fly, then looks on Benvolio:
Mercutio: "Benvolio... what a beauty you are!" Benvolio:[frightened to death] "No, no, I'm ugly as hell!" [runs away]
Narm: The amount of Chewing the Scenery in Act 2 is taken to absurd levels, which leaves a couple of songs with some unintentionally comedic undertones. Romeo dragging Juliet's unconscious body with himself before hanging himself with her strapped around himself can come across as this for instance.
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