Juliet Capulet - a beautiful thirteen year old girl, who has thought little about love and marriage, but grows up quickly when she falls in love with the son of her family's greatest enemy.

Lord and Lady Capulet - Juliet's Parents

Count Paris - the gentleman that Juliet's parents say she must marry

Tybalt - Juliet's quick-tempered cousin on her mother's side.

Nurse - Juliet's confidant and the person who basically raised her.

Romeo - a young man of about sixteen who is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. He is impulsive and immature, but his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. His family is in a long time feud with the Capulet family.

Lord and Lady Montague - Romeo's parents - both parents are worried about Romeo's melancholy or sad mood.

Benvolio Montague - Romeo's cousin and thoughtful friend, he makes a genuine effort to defuse violence. He is a good guy.

Mercutio - Romeo's close friend. He has a vivid imagination. He loves wordplay and puns. He can be hot-headed and hates people who are pretentious or snobby.

Friar Laurence - A priest who is a friend to many a young person in his community. He is kind and always concerned with the well being of his community.

A family feud:
The story takes place in Verona, Italy, in the late 1500s. The Montagues and the Capulets, two very powerful families, have been fighting for many years.

The Capulets throw a big party.

Romeo Montague wants to go to the party to see Rosaline, a girl he likes. Because of the feud, his family is not invited. He wears a costume and sneaks into the party anyway.

Falling in love:
At the party, Romeo sees a girl, Juliet, and falls in love. Soon he finds out that she is a Capulet.

Juliet sees Romeo and falls in love with him, too. She has no idea that he is a member of the Montague family.

Later Juliet learns that Romeo is a Montague She goes out on her balcony to talk Later, Juliet learns that Romeo is a Montague. She goes out on her balcony to talk to the stars about her love for Romeo.

Romeo hears her and tells her he feels the same.

A secret marriage:

The next day Romeo and Juliet are married secretly by Romeo’s friend Friar Lawrence They tell no one
Lawrence. They tell no one.

The same day Romeo and Juliet are married, Romeo's cousin Benvolio and his best friend, Mercutio, get into a fight with Juliet's cousin Tybalt. Tybalt is mad at Romeo for coming to the Capulet's party, so he starts a fight with Benvolio and Mercutio.
Romeo shows up. He does not want to fight Tybalt because he is married to Juliet, but he cannot tell anyone.
Romeo's friends don't understand why he won't fight, so Mercutio fights Tybalt instead. Tybalt kills Mercutio. Romeo is angry and kills Tybalt.

What will Juliet think???