Exclusive: Jamie Ward Explains How the Music of JULIET & ROMEO Transforms a Familiar Tale
Juliet & Romeo is now open in theaters.
By: Josh Sharpe May. 09, 2025
Today marks the release of Juliet & Romeo, a new pop musical reimagining of the classic Shakespeare play. But this isn't the story that you remember. With songs from Grammy Award-winning songwriter Evan Kidd Bogart and Justin Gray, the pop sensibility of the music breathes a distinctly modern flavor into the familiar romance.
Jamie Ward, who plays Romeo in the film, believes that this new take allowed for the actors to get at the core of the material in a fresh way. "The fact that we were able to adapt it into a pop musical just proves how universal the themes are," Ward told BroadwayWorld. "I think that's the power of a musical. It's able to really hone in on emotions, and I think audiences can have a deeper understanding of the things that these characters are really going through."
As for getting the coveted role, Ward noted that the audition process was long, but, ultimately, enjoyable: "[Our director] flew six of us to Rome to compete for the role. But we all got so well! We became the best of friends, and were just hanging out in Rome for a few days, eating cacio e pepe and drinking wine next to the Coliseum." Check out the full interview above!
In addition to Ward as Romeo and Clara Rugaard as Juliet, the twist on the Shakespearean classic features a star-studded cast, including Rebel Wilson, Jason Isaacs, Rupert Everett, Rupert Graves, Tony Award-winner Dan Fogler, and Derek Jacobi. Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Nicholas Podany, and GRAMMY Award-winners, Tayla Parx and Ledisi also star.
Juliet & Romeo is the first in a movie-musical trilogy based around the real-life 1301 story that inspired Shakespeare’s greatest tale, with the world’s most famous lovers finding themselves central figures in an epic journey of battles and betrayal, the iconic duo turning the tides on history as we know it.
Set in 1301 at the end of Medieval times, the Juliet & Romeo Franchise finds our most famous Star-Crossed lovers turning the tides on the history Shakespeare based his own story on, as they reveal the truth to the very future of the Empire. But the biggest twist in this most beloved of tales, is leaving the poetry of Iambic Pentameter in the past, for the original Pop Music that rockets these ever-present themes right to the heart of our characters in the most surprising, and perhaps most powerful way that has ever been seen, or heard, before.
Writer-director Timothy Scott Bogart, three-time Oscar-winning production Designer Dante Ferretti, and original songs and music from GRAMMY, Evan Kidd Bogart and Justin Gray, all breathe new life into this theatrical classic.
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