If you have been wanting to obsess over a new musical, look no further because & Juliet is taking the world by storm. With music from Max Martin and Friends, you will be hearing a few, if not more than a few, familiar tunes to sing along to.
& Juliet is a Broadway Musical that originally premiered in London in 2019 at the Manchester Opera House. The show still runs in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End. The musical made its official Broadway debut in October 2022 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
The show is written by David West Read, the mind behind Schitt’s Creek and the playwright behind the Broadway play, The Performers. The brilliant dance moves come from the mind of choreographer Jennifer Weber, and the show is directed by Luke Sheppard.
The musical includes smash hits such as “I Want It That Way,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Oops!… I Did It Again.” You may be asking yourself, why are these songs in a Broadway musical? Max Martin is credited as the music composer, and that is because he has either helped write or produce each and every single song on and off this album.
The description of the show says, “Juliet’s new story burst to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name… all from the genius songwriter/producer behind more No. 1 hits than any other artist this century.”
David West Read won over Martin and his wife, Jenny, after pitching the story of Romeo and Juliet from the 1590s rather than the 1990s. West read says, “I basically made a playlist of Max’s music and just listened to it on repeat and tried to let the music drive the story.” & Juliet reinvents Martin’s musical portfolio with six Backstreet Boys songs, five Britney Spears songs, and other music from Celine Dion to Ariana Grande.
& Juliet picks up where William Shakespeare left off and puts his created characters into a fully original story. The show begins with Shakespeare writing the ending to his play Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, reads the ending to the play and dislikes how the tale ends, as many do. She suggests a new ending, and as she writes it in real time, the story unfolds before our eyes on stage.
West Read wanted those in the audience to understand the plot of the show, even if they had no idea who Max Martin was or the fact that he had created these songs before the musical was even thought of.
Oftentimes, the story will stop due to Hathaway and Shakespeare fighting over what should happen next in the plot. Hathaway’s version gives Juliet a second chance at life after she finds her lover dead. Instead of killing herself, she grabs her friends and her nurse and ventures off to Paris to begin a new adventure. In Paris, Juliet is introduced to parties, drama, and love, all while her friends push her to reach new bounds she hadn’t before.
& Juliet plays on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with tickets ranging anywhere from $89 to $338. You can purchase your tickets here. If this fun hasn’t convinced you, watch the fantastic trailer below.
