Susan Granger’s review of “& Juliet” (Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway)
“& Juliet” is the most fun I’ve had on Broadway in ages! It’s a witty, amusing Elizabethan jukebox musical, incorporating pop hits in a girl-power screwball version of Shakespeare’s most famous play.
The revisionist history begins in 1597 in Stratford-on-Avon as Will Shakespeare (Stark Sands) and his irritated, oft-neglected wife, Anne (Betsy Wolfe), bickering over the ending of the Bard’s latest play, “Romeo & Juliet.”
Quill-wielding Anne not only doesn’t want Juliet Capulet (Rachel Webb, admirably subbing for Lorna Courtney) to die but also to break free of the prejudiced Verona patriarchy that ruined her life. So Juliet takes off with her non-binary best-friend May (Justin David Sullivan) to Paris, where they – separately – bump into confused Francois DuBois (Philippe Arroyo).
Complications arise, particularly when flirtatious Juliet discovers Romeo (Ben Jackson Walker) was a womanizer. The situation is worsened by Francois’ domineering father, Lance (opera star Paulo Szot), who – years earlier – bedded Juliet’s devoted Nurse Angelique (Melanie La Barrie).
Shakespeare’s own play-within-a-play concept is drolly directed by Luke Sheppard and athletically choreographed by Jennifer Weber with a campy, clever book by Emmy-winning “Schitt’s Creek” writer David West Read and 29 songs from the extensive catalogue of Swedish producer Max Martin and Friends.
What was extraordinary is – thanks to Bill Sherman’s orchestrations – I could understand all the lyrics in music popularized by Ariana Grande, Bon Jovi (“It’s My Life”), Backstreet Boys (“I Want It That Way”), Demi Lovato, Katy Perry (“I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It’), Britney Spears (“I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” “Oops…I Did it Again”), Kelly Clarkson (“Since U Been Gone”), Kesha, Celine Dion, Pink, NSYNC and Justin Timberlake.
Howard Hudson’s lighting design is effective, along with Andrezy Goulding’s video/projections, Paloma Young’s Renaissance costumes (corsets & doublets with Doc Martens) and Soutra Gilmour’s sparse set design, which is eventually strewn with confetti.
FYI: In 2019, Luke Sheppard directed England’s West End version, which premiered in Manchester.
Running 2 hours, 30 minutes with one intermission, “& Juliet” is frothy, exuberant, feel-good fun.