Review: & JULIET at Kansas City Music Hall

The national tour of “& Juliet” opened Tuesday night for a run through Sunday at the Kansas City Music Hall with enough voltage to transform the theater into a full-color pop arena.  “& Juliet” is a clever take and reimaging of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”  It is funny.  It is hip! It is hugely enjoyed by the audience!

“& Juliet” is a jukebox musical, but not your normal retelling of the life story of a particular artist.  While jukebox musicals often feel assembled from nostalgia and convenience, this production distinguishes itself with a playful, reimagined premise: Juliet lives, and the result is a fizzy, fast-moving celebration of reinvention.

The touring company leans fully into that spirit. The show opens with Anne Hathaway (Crystal Kellogg) challenging her husband, William Shakespeare (C.J. Eldred), to rewrite the tragic ending of Romeo and Juliet. What follows is a lively tug-of-war between the pair as they improvise a new version of Juliet’s life, sending her on a journey of self-discovery that unfolds in Paris rather than Verona.

Shakespeare and Anne provide the framing story’s sharpest verbal exchanges, and their marital bickering gives the show an unexpectedly warm emotional spine.

“& Juliet” opened on London’s West End in 2019 and pretty much swept that year’s Oliver Awards.  It crossed the pond in 2022 and continues a successful Broadway run.

The backbone of the show is Max Martin’s extensive pop catalog. This touring cast does more than simply replicate Broadway arrangements — they give the familiar hits genuine theatrical life.

Numbers such as “Baby One More Time,” “Since U Been Gone,” and “Roar” land with impressive clarity thanks to strong vocals across the ensemble and tight musical direction that keeps the pacing brisk.  The various pop tunes draw extended ovations.  The joke lines get unusually vigorous laughs.

As Juliet, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada anchors the production with a charismatic blend of humor, emotional openness, and commanding vocals. Her Act I finale is a particular high point, earning a well-deserved ovation.

Nico Ochoa as May, Juliet’s cross dressing Best Friend, delivers one of the show’s most emotionally resonant performances, balancing sharp comic instincts with a sincere and moving arc that grounds the pop spectacle.

With Romeo supposedly dead, Juliet, her two best friends, and her nurse sally forth to gay Paree. They shortly run into Frankie (Noah Marlowe), who is oddly reminiscent of a young Elton John, and whose father, Lance (Paul Jordan Jansen) has had an earlier love affair with Angelique the nurse.

Juliet and Frankie become engaged.  Juliet’s second Best Friend turns out to be Anne Hathaway who has neatly inserted herself into the cast.  And, of course, Romeo (Joseph Torres) is risen from his grave to offer a fun complication,

The production’s comedic center of gravity comes from Kathryn Allison as Angelique the Nurse and Paul-Jordan Jansen as Lance, both of whom draw steady laughs without drifting into caricature.

Visually, the touring production does not feel pared down. The neon palette, quick-change costumes, and choreography—equal parts boy-band homage and pop-concert swagger—retain their Broadway energy.

If the narrative still trades depth for buoyancy—especially in its second act—the touring company’s commitment and vocal strength smooth over the softer storytelling. This is a production that aims more to lift spirits than to challenge dramatic conventions, and it succeeds on those terms.

Audiences seeking serious drama may find the show too airy, but those willing to embrace its glossy exuberance will discover a lively, inclusive evening that showcases a young, talented touring ensemble at the top of its game. “& Juliet” doesn’t rewrite Shakespeare so much as remix him—and this road company makes that remix a pleasure to watch.

“& Juliet” continues at the Kansas City Music Hall through Sunday, November 23.  Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.  I promise you will enjoy yourself.  It is the most fun I’ve had in a theater in some time.

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