The Starcrossed Gay Frat Boys of "Verona"

One thing we know about any project based on the Shakespeare tragedy Romeo and Juliet – it probably doesn't end well. And this gay short sounds particularly tragic:

Verona is the story of two young lovers separated by their rival fraternities. Set in a small college town wherein young men are groomed for corporate success in All-American hyper competitive fashion, Verona presents the fate of star-crossed lovers in a society that condemns the very nature of their love.

Tragedy or not, this looks like a project worth seeing. For starters, the two appealing leads are played by DeGrassi: The Next Generation veterans John Bregar and Shannon Kook-Chun. (Bregar played Marco's boyfriend Dylan from 2003-2007, and Kook-Chun currently appears as Riley's love interest Zane.)

In addition to an appealing cast, the idea of re-imagining the feuding Montagues and Capulets as rival fraternities seems inspired. According to the press kit, "this post-modern retelling of the greatest love story ever told brings to light the homophobic/homo-erotic dual nature of fraternity life, its perks and perils." 

The project was directed by Laurie Lynd, who also helmed Breakfast with Scot, and apparently the short as it exists now was intended only as a calling card to generate interest and financing for a feature length film. So far, two short teaser trailers have been released on the web. They appear below, and they're pretty much all you can see of Verona at the moment.

So what say AfterEltonites? Is this a project you'd be interested in seeing more of? Share your thoughts in the comments. And for those wanting to show support you can join Verona's Facebook Group.