Orlando Bloom poses on a motorcycle for ‘Romeo’, this does not bode well

Sigh… does anyone else feel sorry for Orlando Bloom? These photos just gave me second-hand embarrassment for him. Orlando has been in New York for several months now, rehearsing the new Broadway production of Romeo and Juliet. Orlando is 36 years old. Romeo was supposed to be a teenager. So, on that alone… I feel sorry for him. He’s much too old to play Romeo, but his acceptance of this role speaks volumes about the state of his career these days. Stuck in this sort of juvenile forever-heartthrob Teen Beat sort of thing.

Orlando’s Juliet is an actress named Condola Rashad. She’s really pretty, although I question her insistence on wearing high-top sneakers to the photocall. She’s 26 years old – again, Juliet was supposed to be a teenager, although I’m giving this mid-20s actress a pass because I could see her pulling off “teenager”. I guess it’s also notable that Juliet is being made into a woman of color. Is that notable? Eh. It speaks to the larger themes of Romeo and Juliet and the power of love in the face of societal, racial and familial norms, I suppose.

All that being said, just from this photocall alone, I fear that this production is going to be a MESS. You know someone was like “We’ve got to youth it up! I know, put Orlando on a motorcycle! Get him some leather pants!!” Even Orly looks embarrassed. Poor Orly. I guess the production is going to be super-modern. Maybe Mercutio will be a Hell’s Angel.

He would have made a half-decent Hamlet though… I wonder why no one thought of him for that?

Photos courtesy of WENN.