by FilmInk Staff
Baz Luhrmann’s Genre-Bending Blockbuster Returns 30 Years Later as a Cinematic Live-to-Film Event
Presales Start Today; Tickets On Sale September 18
GEA Live, in collaboration with Disney Concerts and Baz Luhrmann, today announced the global tour dates for William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film in Concert, the cinematic live-to-film event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Luhrmann’s groundbreaking 1996 film. The tour launches January 9 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania before traveling to three continents in all. The production is set to make its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House on September 29 before embarking on its global run. Academy Award®-winning Leonardo DiCaprio and Emmy®-winning Claire Danes star as Romeo and Juliet in the bold retelling that made Shakespeare feel dangerous and romantic for a new generation and continues to influence fashion, music, and culture that still reverberates today. Presales begin today, September 17, with tickets on sale to the general public on September 18 at 10 a.m. local time at www.romeoandjulietinconcert.com or via the inks below.
The global tour Australian dates and tickets:
| May 25 | Perth, AU | Riverside Theatre |
| May 27 | Brisbane, AU | BCEC Great Hall |
| May 28 | Melbourne, AU | Palais Theatre |
| May 29 | Sydney, AU | Darling Harbour Theatre |
Presented on a cinema screen with the original dialogue and action intact, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film in Concert features a hybrid ensemble performing the film’s score and music live in sync with the full movie. Blending rock and orchestral musicians with vocals, electronics, and a DJ, they channel Luhrmann’s signature fusion of classic storytelling and contemporary sound.
“One of the greatest surprises over the past three decades has been watching Romeo + Juliet find new audiences again and again. That’s the enduring magic of Shakespeare and cinema,” says Luhrmann, a two-time Academy Award® nominee for Best Picture. “This concert celebrates both, while inviting audiences around the world to experience the film’s emotion, music, and theatricality in a completely new way.”
“Romeo + Juliet has influenced generations of filmmakers, musicians, and audiences, and its impact continues to be felt 30 years later,” says Floris Douwes, Producer and Managing Director at GEA Live. “Our goal was to create a live experience that honours that legacy while giving audiences a fresh reason to fall in love with the film all over again.”
Originally released on November 1, 1996, and opening number one at the US box office, Romeo + Juliet became one of Luhrmann’s signature works, transforming Shakespeare’s tragedy into a maximal, MTV-era pop opera that still feels timely three decades later. Romeo + Juliet’s defining ’90s music identity helped cement its status as a generational classic, powered by instantly recognizable tracks including “Kissing You” by Des’ree, “Lovefool” by The Cardigans, “Talk Show Host” by Radiohead, “#1 Crush” by Garbage, “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)” by Quindon Tarver, “Young Hearts Run Free” by Kym Mazelle, and “You and Me Song” by The Wannadies.
For more information about William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film in Concert, presale access, tickets, and future tour updates, visit romeoandjulietinconcert.com and follow @bazluhrmann on Instagram and TikTok, and @BazLuhrmannOfficial on Facebook; and, @DisneyConcerts on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
About Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann is a pioneer of pop culture working across film, opera, theatre, live events, fashion, and music. His singular cinematic language continues to captivate audiences through a unique fusion of classical artistry and bold, contemporary style that has ignited imaginations around the world and made Luhrmann the most commercially successful director in Australia with four of the country’s top-ten grossing films.
Born in Sydney, Australia, Luhrmann’s journey began in theatre, where his innovative productions won the acclaim of audiences and critics alike. He burst onto the scene with the first of his Red Curtain Trilogy, Strictly Ballroom, which premiered at the 1992 Cannes Festival. This film was followed by the ambitious modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) and the Academy Award-winning Moulin Rouge! (2001). With these films, Luhrmann brought the movie-musical back into the zeitgeist with his infectious, trademark theatrical aesthetic and operatic sense of romance.
Returning to the stage, Luhrmann’s production company, Bazmark, went on to garner two Tony Awards for the Broadway run of Puccini’s opera La Bohème (2002), which he then followed up with the sweeping historical epic, the Academy Award-nominated Australia (2008).
His now-iconic screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (2013) won two Academy Awards and became Luhrmann’s highest-grossing film to date. Collaborating with Jay-Z on the Gatsby soundtrack, Luhrmann redefined cross-genre music in film, with the album peaking at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and setting a new record for the biggest digital sales week for a soundtrack in Billboard history.
Always pushing the boundaries of genre, Luhrmann collaborated with Netflix on his first series, The Get Down (2016), a critically acclaimed show about the birth of hip-hop in the 1970s South Bronx. His recent projects also include Faraway Downs, a six-part Hulu series reimagining his 2008 film, Australia.
Luhrmann’s 2022 film Elvis, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks and entirely shot on the Gold Coast, Australia, became the fourth-highest grossing Australian film of all time. Elvis received eight Oscar nominations including Best Picture, while also winning four BAFTAs and eleven Australian Academy (AACTA) awards. Butler took home a BAFTA and a Golden Globe and was nominated for the Academy Award. The film’s Grammy-nominated soundtrack, produced by Luhrmann through his label House of Iona, featured the hit single “Vegas” by Doja Cat, which charted on Billboard’s top 10 and was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Performance. Elvis is Luhrmann’s most nominated film to date.
Luhrmann lives between New York, Paris and the Gold Coast with his wife and creative partner, Oscar-winning designer Catherine Martin, and their two children. Luhrmann is currently in development on his forthcoming epic, Jehanne d’Arc at Warner Bros.
