& Juliet - Review

The Jukebox Musical genre is generally not seen as a forum for creative or unusual storytelling, but & Juliet is more ambitious than most, using its millennial pop hits to provide a more unconventional twist on the story of Romeo & Juliet. Most Jukebox musicals honour a certain artist (e.g Mamma Mia) or a certain time period (e.g Rock of Ages) but & Juliet does something a little different by using songs from a single megaproducer. Max Martin is the most powerful man in millennial pop, having written and produced dozens of hits over the last 25 years, including 25 US Number Ones and 20 UK Number Ones. Martin’s success won’t stop anytime soon - Since & Juliet premiered, he has written songs for Lady Gaga, Coldplay, BTS and Lizzo and created the Weeknd megahit “Blinding Lights”. & Juliet contains 30 Max Martin hits* from 17 different artists, including The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Bon Jovi and Katy Perry. We are all familiar with the majority of these songs, but could they work in the story-driven world of theatre?

In order to bring Max Martin’s music to London’s West End, the producers of & Juliet assembled their cast and crew, with Luke Sheppard directing and David West Read writing the book. After months of promos and workshops, followed by a preview run in Manchester, & Juliet officially opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in November 2019. Despite the fact that jukebox musicals generally struggle to gain critical approval, reviews were generally better than expected, with critics praising the cast and the feel-good atmosphere. The show was nominated for nine Olivier Awards, winning three in the acting categories. After an 18-month closure caused by the COVID pandemic, & Juliet returned in September 2021. Sadly, it's time at the West End is about to conclude - The final performance at the Shaftesbury will be on 26th March 2023. However, Juliet’s adventures are just beginning. The show has just premiered on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. An Australian version will premiere in early 2023, and there are also plans for European version and a UK Tour.

What's the storyline?

In 1590s London, megastar writer William Shakespeare (played by Oliver Tompsett) is about to premiere his new play Romeo & Juliet. However, his wife Anne Hathaway (played by Cassidy Janson) is in attendance and quickly becomes uncomfortable with the tragic storyline. She decides to create a new alternative scenario where Juliet (played by Miriam Teak-Lee) chooses not to kill herself, and instead heads to Paris in a quest to start a new chapter in her life. As Juliet and her friends get embroiled in a variety of romantic misadventures, it becomes clear that the tension between Shakespeare and Hathaway is driving the development of the story. Can Juliet take control and start to live life on her terms?

Review

& Juliet aims to put us into an excited and energetic mood before the musical even starts, with members of the ensemble dancing around to an instrumental megamix of the soundtrack as they assemble parts of the set. When Shakespeare finally emerges singing the Backstreet Boys' reliably rousing “Larger Than Life”, it quickly becomes clear that the focus is on providing a feelgood endorphin rush. It can be a challenge to keep this going through the whole show, but & Juliet manages to sustain the positive energy to the final bows.

The main challenge facing jukebox musicals is how to provide enough story to sustain the full 2 hours plus, so & Juliet decides to provide an unusually large line-up of characters and relationships. At its heart, & Juliet is a fairly traditional comedic farce, but this genre has a reputation for convoluted plots, so & Juliet chooses to provide too much story. The plot line mentioned above is a simplified version, here is a more detailed summary:

William Shakespeare is about to premiere his new play Romeo & Juliet, but his underappreciated wife Anne Hathaway is not keen on the infamous tragic ending. She creates a new scenario where Juliet throws away the knife and decides to live. Finding out Romeo (played by Carl Man**) was a serial womaniser (with a few male dates as well), she runs away from her suffocating parents with the help of her nurse Angelique (played by Cassandra Lee**). Hathaway inserts herself into the narrative as Juliet's friend April and also gives Juliet a second, non-binary, friend called May (played by Joe Foster). The four of them choose to go to Paris, where Juliet befriends Francois De Bois (played by Billy Nevers), whose father Lance (played by Nicolas Colicos) is trying to force him into marriage. Eager to escape from her parents, Juliet ends up impulsively entering a marriage of convenience with Francois, whilst Lance rekindles a past relationship with Angelique. Meanwhile Shakespeare (inserted into the narrative playing several bit parts) creates further complications, showing Francois that May might be a better partner for him, and resurrecting Romeo, who makes a fresh attempt to win Juliet's love.

Got that?

Overall, & Juliet has eight lead characters and no fewer than five romantic subplots (With the various smaller friendships and parental relationships getting some exploration as well). This creates probably the greatest flaw, that Juliet often feels like a supporting character in the story that bears her name. However, all the characters make the most of their moments in the spotlight. In addition, the overall themes of the story are kept relatively consistent, with the protagonists either needing to find confidence or develop maturity. This brings a degree of focus that ensures none of the subplots feel superfluous.

The show relies heavily on meta humour - there are even a couple of jokes about Anne Hathaway's name. As you may expect, this varies wildly in quality. Whilst some of the criticisms of the source material feel like low-hanging fruit (Feeling that it would be inappropriate to have Juliet remain a 14 year old, Anne Hathaway changes her into a young woman just entering her twenties, which actually enhances Juliet’s need to break free and attain independence), there are some more interesting points about Shakespeare's reliance on dysfunctional marriages, and the ways in which Anne Hathaway was kept out of Shakespeare's creative world. Most of the heavier parts of the original story are brushed away, with Paris, Mercutio and Tybalt (whose deaths indicated the original story would end badly) only mentioned in passing at most. Juliet's parents are pleasingly intimidating (with great costume design) but they barely figure in the narrative beyond Juliet's need to escape from them. Although emphasising their toxic influence would have raised the stakes a little bit more, this is ultimately a sensible call - drawing attention to the darker aspects of Romeo & Juliet would have probably hurt the sense of wish-fulfilment escapism central to the story. After all, this is a musical where characters can travel 600 miles from Verona to Paris inside a single musical montage, and Shakespeare, Romeo and May can claim to be Lance’s absent sons and sneak into his "De Bois Band" without a single background check. Ultimately, & Juliet's tone and style has more in common with the likes of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It and should be discussed on those terms. And whilst the script certainly the weakest aspect of the show (to the surprise of no-one) it does feature some genuinely interesting ideas. Romeo & Juliet fans are probably used to Disneyfied takes on the story by now, but & Juliet is aimed at a slightly older audience, with several raunchy jokes and the occasional swearword (“F***in Perfect” is sung uncensored) marking it out as primarily for teens and Young Adults. Many members of & Juliet's target audience are members of the fanfic generation, where playing with established characters is a rite of passage. Given that Shakespeare's plays (Romeo & Juliet included) were almost always adapted from existing poems, plays and books, the more flexible and self-aware world of fanfic feels like a creative approach. Although the idea of Shakespeare’s personal life influencing his work is not a novelty, the modern and self-critical approach to the concept clearly distinguishes it from the likes of Shakespeare in Love and Upstart Crow. & Juliet is focused on being a "fun night out" but there are ideas that could really work a more intellectual exploration of Shakespeare.

Ultimately, the technical aspects are more important, and these are handled effectively. The staging is surprisingly impressive, with a turntable and a trapdoor allowing for some moments of visual spectacle that liven the slick, energetic choreography (created by Jennifer Weber). The set design (provided by Soutra Gilmour) and costumes (designed by Paloma Young) both provide a blend of modern-day styles and classic Renaissance-era designs. The pink and neon colours of the staging are combined with Tudor fonts and woodwork. The characters are dressed in brightly coloured versions of traditional Tudor clothes such as Jerkins, corsets, and codpieces, but carry around coffee cups and cameras. In addition to the deliberate anachronisms, there are a few Parisian in-jokes (Shakespeare’s portable bookstore references the famous Parisian bookshop Shakespeare & Co) which add to the hip, knowing feel associated with the “revisionist” subgenre, but are subtle enough to avoid being a distraction. Every scene features some sort of interesting design element - The best of these are April’s carriage for Juliet and her friends (really emphasizing the Cinderella elements inherent in the story***), and a levitating bench that allows Romeo and Juliet to fly through the air during one critical scene. There are also projections, but these generally avoid being too much of a distraction. These designs reflect the fantastical upbeat tone of the story but have enough authentic details from both time periods to avoid feeling artificial.

However, the main reason people are paying to see & Juliet is the music. Patrick Hurley, Dominic Fallacaro and Bill Sherman led the musical and orchestration team, and they definitely do justice to the 30 Max Martin hits featured. Martin's pop has always been defined by its loud, bombastic style, and the performances of "Larger Than Life", "Domino", "Confident" and "Can't Stop the Feeling" provide all the upbeat energy required. One of the most successful examples of this approach is the take on Bon Jovi’s "It's My Life", which fully leans into its ridiculousness, as Shakespeare resurrects Romeo to provide further chaos ("Romeo, back from the dead!" I know, it's super dope!"). It represents a suitably flamboyant end to the first act. However, the main “wow” moment in the show is Juliet’s climactic rendition of "Roar”. The vocal gymnastics are matched by visual spectacle, with a cherry-picker style lift and even confetti cannons ensuring that Juliet's big moment of self-realisation feels genuinely epic.

There are some innovations made to some of the familiar favourites in Martin’s library. "I Want It That Way" is turned into a duet between Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway, highlighting their dysfunctional relationship. Robyn's mid-tempo “Show Me Love” is turned into a loud, exhilarating celebration of Juliet's journey to Paris, managing to be the single most joyous song in a soundtrack filled with feelgood anthems. “Break Free” and “Teenage Dream” are put into a mash-up for Lance and Angelique's romance, whilst “Problem” and “Can't Feel My Face” are mashed up to show Juliet rejecting Romeo. Both pairs work really well together. However, some numbers are cheapened by their inclusion in the musical - "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" - written following the sudden death of Martin's mentor Denniz Pop in 1998 - is played primarily for comedy (It's sang by Romeo's exes at his funeral) and loses a lot of its impact as a result. "It’s Gotta Be Me" feels a little too forced, even as it allows May to fully establish their growth in confidence. However, some of the more gimmicky song choices work better than expected. The use of "Everybody (Backstreets Back)" sounds odd on paper, but it succeeds as a comic relief number, with the four male leads and May providing some slick boyband entertainment before the relatively dramatic climax.

Some of Martin's more obscure songs fare especially well. Adam Lambert's “Whataya Want From Me” soundtracks a tense exchange between May and Francois and provides a genuine element of edginess. A rendition of Celine Dion's “That's The Way It Is” allows Anne Hathaway to provide valuable support to Juliet. “One More Try” - an original song created especially for the musical by Martin and Jessie J - slots in nearly with the established hits, as Romeo and Juliet realise, they might still have some degree of affection for each other. Kesha's “Blow” is another song that benefits from lively arrangements (The & Juliet version of "Blow" interpolates parts of Britney Spears’ 2011 song “I Wanna Go”, meaning the soundtrack technically has 30 ½ songs), providing a fun soundtrack to Juliet and friends arriving at Lance's ball. Overall, & Juliet succeeds in translating its collection of songs to the musical medium and prove that Martin's seemingly lightweight pop hits have better dramatic potential than anyone expected.

However, the most impressive of & Juliet is the performances from the cast. Oliver Tompsett’s interpretation of Shakespeare as a cockney-accented "lad" is not likely to please purists, but for all his impulsive and narcissistic tendencies, his charm and creativity ensures he feels convincing as a literary superstar- this Shakespeare is a boastful man with loads to be boastful about. In the role of Anne Hathaway, Cassidy Janson starts out as a talkative, quirky “Acting younger than her age” hipster but finds herself showing her vulnerable side as her frustrations with her place in Shakespeare's life start to come to the surface. Although her gravelly vocal style is an acquired taste on the uptempo “Domino” and “Blow”, Janson absolutely nails "That's The Way It Is". Romeo is an “bad boy” with his leather jacket and lothario past, but Carl Man still brings some sincerity to the likes of "Love Me Like You Do" and "One More Try". Nicolas Colicos is an absolute hoot as the French-accented, boisterous Lance (Although it's a little sad that David Bedella – who originated the role - chose not to stay on despite his Olivier Awards win), bringing personality to a rather stereotypical “difficult dad”. Cassandra Lee is a lively Angelique, torn between her loyalty to Juliet and her affection for Lance, with her rendition of "F***in Perfect" providing the lived-in wisdom and authenticity that really captures the emotional power of the song. Joe Foster fares really well as the non-binary May, with a torch song take on “Not A Girl, Not Yet a Woman" providing a moment of intimacy and honesty in the first act. After Anne Hathaway introduces May by pointing out the value of having non-binary characters in a world where women were always played by men in drag, May’s gender fluidity is generally handled with both subtlety and care – they remain a supporting character, but their relationship with Juliet and Francois allows them to have a full and effective character arc. As Francois, Billy Nevers is pleasingly awkward misfit, but gets dealt a relatively bad hand in terms of song choices - although a take on "I Kissed a Girl" is pleasingly sultry, "Overprotected" and "As Long As You Love Me" are relatively forgettable.

However, for all the clutter in the narrative, Juliet is ultimately the standout, with Miriam Teak-Lee really demonstrating star quality. She gets most of the big numbers, delivering "...Baby One More Time”,” Oops!... I Did It Again”, “Since U Been Gone” and “Stronger” with scene-stealing power and showmanship before her showstopping take on “Roar”. However, Take-Lee also gets to showcase her abilities during the dialogue-based sections. Despite having several moments that show her foolish streak from the source material remains (Her impulsive decision to help Francois and her inability to fully discard Romeo) Juliet still comes across as a likeable and relatable protagonist who underestimates her ability at bringing out the best in people. Teak-Lee has effortless chemistry with Francois and Romeo, and succeeds in the difficult balancing act of depicting Juliet as a character who already possesses the drive and energy she needs to succeed in life but hasn’t yet found the maturity to fully put those into practice. Miriam Teak-Lee has been attached to & Juliet since it was first revealed in January 2019, and it will be really great to see what she does afterwards.

For all the focus on showmanship, & Juliet has a solid emotional core. The underlying message is surprisingly sophisticated - our mistakes and bad decisions are a vital part of coming of age. Its nuanced approach to romantic relationships extends to the sympathetic treatment of the main characters, with ones who could have been portrayed as villainous turning out to be more complex - Romeo may be a philandering shallow idiot, but he is aware of this and ultimately willing to change himself for the better. Ultimately, the tragedy of the source material is replaced with something more grounded and open-minded, matching the positivity of the music, staging and characters. The majority of the protagonists in this story are literally fictional characters created by a warring couple, but we are still able to invest in their hopes and dilemmas. The fact that & Juliet pulls this off embodies its ability at exceeding expectations.

Verdict

& Juliet is certainly silly and lightweight, but it is far better than you would expect. The performers give their all, the choreography and set design bring energy and even wonder, and the use and arrangements of the songs manage to bring out the best in Martin's music. For all the silliness, there is a surprisingly strong dramatic core, with the messages about embracing the complexity of relationships and some insights into the way in which creatives shape (and are shaped) by the stories and characters they bring to life.

When & Juliet premieres on Broadway, it is entering a competitive autumn season with six major Broadway musicals opening over the last two months of the year. Success is not guaranteed – All Shook Up and Head Over Heels**** provided similar blends of modern pop and 16th century romance but failed to sustain a long run. However, the quality of the soundtrack and the word of mouth from the tryouts and the West End could give & Juliet enough of an edge to make it into 2024. Licensing could allow it to enjoy further life beyond the big tourist-friendly stages, which would be richly deserved. Ultimately, & Juliet is a guilty pleasure you don't have to feel guilty about liking. The millennial target audience will have a great time watching it, and even those outside the demographic will find plenty to enjoy.

Notes

* - Because Martin produces and writes most of his songs as part of a team – usually with other Swedish writer/producers – the full credit for the songs in the programme goes to 'Max Martin and Friends'. For simplicity’s sake, the songs in & Juliet will be referred to solely as Max Martin songs.

** - Angelique and Romeo are usually played by Malinda Parris and Tom Francis, but they were absent from the performance being reviewed here. Lee and Man covered for them, so their portrayals are being discussed here instead.

***- After all, & Juliet’s main storyline gets into gear with a quirky, warm-hearted older woman helping a young adult protagonist escape from an isolated existence by hopping onto a magical coach and going to a ball where a wealthy and powerful father is trying to find a bride for his reluctant son...

**** The former used the songs of Elvis, the latter used the songs of Belinda Carlisle and the Go-Gos.