Though March 23
Take a tragic romance and modern times, mix well, stir and shake, and you get & Juliet, the latest musical at Playhouse Square. It’s a crazy cocktail that sizzles, sparks, generates laughs, and occasionally indulges in iambic pentameter.
This musical look at Renaissance England (and its most famous bard) feeds on Grammy-winning songs by songwriter/producer Max Martin and a book by the Emmy-winning writer David West Read. The mix of Martin’s pop and Read’s quirky take (if you’ve seen Shitt’s Creek you’ll know what to expect) makes a spicy delight.
Director Luke Sheppard and choreographer Jennifer Weber keep it hopping. The show, which originated in London in 2019, opened on Broadway in November 2022 (and it’s still there).
Generally recognized more by its performers (Brittany Spears, etc.) than its composer, Max Martin’s pop songs may have defined a generation. It was hard to sit still (no one sees if you’re foot-tapping, do they?) during the more than two dozen pop numbers featured in & Juliet.
The freely shifting set (signs change, actors lifted high, bright lights shine), designed by Soutra Gilmour, sports a jukebox so we know what’s ahead. But this “jukebox musical” is more, much more, than an excuse to recycle well-known favorites. A small orchestra, conducted by keyboardist Andre Cerullo, makes a mighty sound.
Martin’s collaboration with West’s imagination weaves together epically famous (in our modern world) pop numbers with epically Shakespearian situations to create a brilliant, endearing, and memorable synthesis by layering olden times over modern ones.
How? Mashups of favorites such as “Roar,” “I Kissed a Girl,” and “Oops!. . . I Did It Again!” blended script and sound to fit perfectly with plot situations.
Best example? When the delightful (and dynamic) Rachel Simone Webb as Juliet rocked the “Oops!” number toward the end of Act 1 when she admits she’s made the same mistake twice now.
(Mistake? Our sweet and perfect Juliet? Yes, she’s called out for her tendency to fall in love, and fall hard, at first glance.)
In addition to Webb, the strong cast includes Corey Mach as the brilliant, yet sometimes hapless Shakespeare (who is rarely seen without a quill — that would be like an iPad today) and Teal Wicks as his “lovely wife” Anne Hathaway. Their exchanges are classic and ring true to those who dare marry others with ideas (nay, reader, I jest). Inside jokes (AKA “Easter Eggs” — I’ll not name them — abound as the pair ponders the question, “What if Juliet did not kill herself when she found Romeo dead?”
Cheer up! Michael Canu as Romeo (shown to be a trifle egotistic but still handsome) does return later (but Juliet is far wiser now). Other pivotal roles in this truly outstanding cast include Nick Drake as May and Mateus Leite Cardoso as Francois — two lost souls who find each other in a parallel love story. The whole ensemble is featured often and delights every time, from the opening when they amble casually about the stage and address the audience directly, to the final bow. Bravi.
Bottom Line: A funny, human take on Shakespeare’s best beloved romantic tragedy. Until Desdemona and Lady Macbeth come back to life, & Juliet rules for a fresh take on love (and should make you happy, especially if you didn’t sleep through all your English lit classes).