Ronit & Jamil

Laskin (Homer the Little Stray Cat) creates a resonant contemporary version of Romeo and Juliet, transporting Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers to modern-day Gaza. Ronit, a Jewish Israeli teen, meets Jamil, a Muslim Palestinian, through their fathers, a pharmacist and doctor. Though both families work together to help the needy in Palestine, they don’t fully trust the other and are particularly wary of their teenage children talking to each other, much less falling in love. Writing in clipped, understated verse, Laskin borrows lines from the original play as she sensitively describes two lovers weaving their way through social, political, and familial hurdles designed to keep them apart (“I hate the parting/ the sorrow of it/ the fear/ tomorrow will never come”). Laskin takes pains to address the similarities between the Palestinian and Israeli households—two back-to-back poems titled “Dinner Chatter” reveal parallel menus (“Ommi’s good food:/ hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush.... Imah’s good food:/ hummus, falafel, baba ghanoush”) and attitudes—starkly juxtaposing them against mutual prejudices. A lyrical message of peace and love radiates from this relevant and hopeful reimagining. Ages 13–up. Agent: Myrsini Stephanides, Carol Mann Agency. (Feb.)