From a jaunty Spin Doctors-scored opening to a teary, Regina Spektor-cued finale, Love and Other Drugs will switch to any style, station, or frequency to keep you entertained. Or at least not bored.

Shakespeare’s larger-than-life characters and predicaments beg to be set as operas — grand, moving songs and gobs of spectacle. Romeo and Juliet‘s a special case, though: ordinary people reacting way ...