‘& JULIET’: (from left): Joomin Hwang, Rachel Webb, Bobby Pocket Horner, Lorna Courtney, Virgil Gadson. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

& JULIET
Book by David West Read
Music & lyrics by Max Martin & friends
Directed by Luke Shepard
Stephen Sondheim Theatre
124 West 43rd Street
212-239-6202, www.AndJulietBroadway.com

By David NouNou

There is an infectious vitality to & Juliet that is off the charts. It has a great and actually funny, irreverent book by David West Read and a catchy score from start to finish by Max Martin & friends. No spoiler alert here, but the score includes Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and “Oops…I Did It Again”, Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” & “Roar” as well as the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody” and more surprises.

As Shakespeare wrote it, Romeo takes his poison and dies. Juliet awakens from her drugged coma, learns from Friar Laurence of what happened, and stabs herself to death. The end. Well, not in this version. Juliet (Lorna Courtney) wakes up and figures things out for herself. Why should she kill herself? And it was selfish of Romeo to kill himself and not wait for her. She intends to live her life. Thus, the merriment unfolds.

Besides Juliet, there are the three other principal protagonists: William Shakespeare (Stark Sands) and Anne Hathaway, not the actress but actually Shakespeare’s wife (Betsy Wolfe). They manipulate how the story should continue now that Juliet is alive. Anne looks at things from the feminist point of view and wants Juliet to experience all the alternatives at her disposal, while William wants to keep the traditional manner in which he conceived it. The third principal is Melanie La Barrie as the Nurse.

As the play progresses, different characters are introduced that alter Juliet’s life and if she should even remarry. Even Romeo (Ben Jackson Walker) is resurrected and makes another plea for Juliet’s hand in marriage. Decisions, decisions.

With further alterations by William and Anne, Juliet leaves Verona for Paris to flee her parents and encounters Francois (Philippe Arroyo), the dejected son of Lance (Paulo Szot), a man of high importance in the courts of Paris. Lance forces Francoise to make him proud by marrying Juliet. One problem, though: Francoise is gay and in love with May (Justin David Sullivan) who happens to be Juliet’s BFF. Lance in younger days had an affair with Juliet’s nurse. Messy. Messy. Not to worry; things do sort themselves out.

As I mentioned the premise is great, the score delightful, and the performances in some cases are good, except for the over hamming by most. Lorna Courtney delivers her songs “Oops!…I Did It Again” and “Roar” like a finalist on The Voice and not so much as the character, Juliet. Betsy Wolfe is a consummate Broadway pro and really gives Anne the boost for feminism that the character requires. She is in great voice and far superior to her British counterpart in the London version we saw this summer. Stark Sands as William is raffish enough, but lacks the spark and passion needed for William to be compelling.

The surprise of the evening is Paulo Szot, best known for his 2008 Tony-winning performance as Emile De Becque in South Pacific. He is a wonderful baritone who seems to be enjoying himself in the part of Lance singing and precision dancing as a boy band singer. He delivers a delightful performance.

This musical is further enhanced by its creative team. Set designer Soutra Gilmour has created original, unorthodox, seamless, cluttered but easy-on-the-eye sets. The costumes by Paloma Young are colorful. Lighting Designer Howard Hudson captures every mood, night or day. Choreographer, Jennifer Weber has injected so much energy and originality in her dances. Director Luke Sheppard keeps the merriment going and unfolding at every scene, but in his English version, the supporting cast was tighter and more focused than the freewheeling in this version.

The surprises keep coming, the fun rolls along, and remember in this version it is Juliet, not Romeo.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 30, 2022
Reviewed at November 29, 2022  performance.

‘& JULIET’: Lorna Courtney & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: (left to right) Lorna Courtney, Betsy Wolfe, Justin David Sullivan & Melanie La Barrie. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: Stark Sands & Betsy Wolfe. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: Ben Jackson Walker & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: Lorna Courtney & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: Melanie La Barrie & Lorna Courtney. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: Paulo Szot & Phillipe Arroyo. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘& JULIET’: Philippe Arroyo & Justin David Sullivan. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘& Juliet’: Pop musical look at life after Romeo appeared first on StageZine.

‘& JULIET’: Miriam Teak-Lee & cast. Photo: Johann Persson.

& JULIET
Book by David West Read
Music & lyrics by Max Martin & friends
Directed by Luke Sheppard
Shaftesbury Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue

London, United Kingdom
(020 7379 5399), https://www.andjulietthemusical.co.uk/

By David NouNou

LONDON—Every year when StageZine goes to London for the summer theatre season, there is often one show we hope comes to Broadway. In 2019, the last time we were there, it was Six. This year our pick is & Juliet.

There is an infectious vitality to this musical that is off the charts. It has a great and actually funny irreverent book by David West Read and a catchy score from start to finish by Max Martin and friends. No spoiler alert here, but the score does include Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” and “Oops…I Did It Again,” Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”  and “Roar” and more surprises. It is reminiscent of the 2015 musical Something Rotten by the Kirkpatrick Brothers.

I’m not saying that this is a perfect musical; it will need some tighter writing and directing before coming to New York. What is glorious about it is its exuberant young vitality and, with the proper changes, it should be a contender for next year’s “Best Musical” during awards season.

As Shakespeare wrote it, Romeo takes his poison and dies. Juliet awakens from her drugged coma and learns from Friar Laurence of what happened, then stabs herself to death. The end. Well, not in this version. Juliet (Miriam-Teak Lee) wakes up and figures things out for herself. Why should she kill herself? And it was selfish of Romeo to kill himself and not wait for her. She intends to live her life. Thus, the merriment unfolds.

Besides Juliet, there are the three other principal protagonists: William Shakespeare (Alex Tranter) and Anne Hathaway, not the actress but actually Shakespeare’s wife (Cassidy Janson). They manipulate how the story should continue now that Juliet is alive. Anne looks at things from the feminist point of view and wants Juliet to experience all the alternatives at her disposal, while William wants to keep the traditional manner in which he conceived it. The third principal is the ever-lovable Keala Settle as the Nurse. By the way, she will be leaving soon to play with Queen of British Soul Beverley Knight in a revival of the musical Sister Act. So, catch her before she leaves.

As the play progresses, different characters are introduced that alter Juliet’s life and if she should even remarry. Even Romeo (Tom Francis) resurfaces and makes another plea for Juliet’s hand in marriage. Decisions, decisions.

As I mentioned the premise is great, the score delightful, and the performances in most cases are very good, except for the over hamming by the few. Miriam Teak-Lee is lovely and a delight as Juliet. Alex Trantor is charming and gorgeous as Shakespeare; if only he really did look like Mr. Tranter. Ms. Janson as Anne is cloying at times. Ms. Settle is a delight.

This musical is further enhanced by its creative team. Set designer Soutra Gilmour has created an original, unorthodox, seamless cluttered but easy-on-the-eyes sets. The costumes by Paloma Young are deliciously colorful. Lighting Designer Howard Hudson captures every mood, night or day. Choreographer Jennifer Weber has injected so much energy and originality in her dances, it’s a shame that director Luke Sheppard doesn’t keep up with her. He needs help in editing the proceedings, but hopefully this will be worked out before any Broadway transfer.

There are so many surprises here and so much fun to be had. It is a must-see. Should it come to New York, here is my list for the perfect cast: Ariana DeBose as Juliet, Christian Borle as Shakespeare, Cassie Levy as Anne, Jeremy Jordan as Romeo and, of course, Keala Settle as The Nurse.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 10, 2022
Reviewed in London on June 14, 2022.

‘& JULIET’ at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London. Photo: StageZine.

‘& JULIET’: Tom Francis & cast. Photo: Johan Persson.

‘& JULIET’: (Center) Cassidy Janson, Miriam-Teak Lee, Keala Settle & cast. Photo: Johan Persson

‘& JULIET’: Oliver Tompsett, Miriam-Teak Lee & Keala Settle & cast. Photo: Johan Persson.

‘& JULIET’: Alex Thomas, Julius D’Silva, Tim Mahendran & Oliver Tompsett & cast. Photo: Johan Persson.

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