2 out of 5 stars

Perhaps there’s a case to be made for reconceiving “Romeo and Juliet” as a border-town story in the troubling age of ICE. But this Saheem Ali-directed production – the first in the summer’s Delacorte offerings – doesn’t make it. Sure, it’s well-intentioned, but it offers nothing more than surface gestures – say, anti-ICE graffiti – as a way to telegraph its message, so everything starts to feel like virtue signaling rather than a thought-out statement. And while the cast goes back and forth between Spanish and English that doesn’t underscore any message by itself, either. Thankfully, at least the cast is mostly solid. (Production photo credit (also on home page): Joan Marcus)

Presented by the Public Theater at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, through June 28, 2026; publictheater.org.(Review date: June 13, 2026)