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IMO, one the problem with teaching Shakespeare is that teachers inevitably pick the wrong plays. They pick R&J because it is ostensibly about people who are the same age as the students learning it. The problem with that logic is that the entire world is different. People don't get married as teens much anymore, and the whole warring parents thing is hard to imagine. Add to that a language barrier and a story that qualifies as heavy drama, and it doesn't really encourage people to enjoy Shakespeare.
Now have those same students read Much Ado or one of Shakespeare's other comedies (but not A Midsummer Night's Dream), and you'll usually find that they enjoy it a lot more, because they can relate to the story better. That same story could be set in a high school, and the whole story would basically just work except for the wedding aspect, which is a minor detail.
Oh, dear. I think I just got an idea for a book.
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