Review: & JULIET at Orpheum Theatre

Witty, funny, flashy, and eye-popping, & Juliet rides the wave of phenomenally successful jukebox musicals and succeeds not only with the familiarity of the pop songs it includes, but by its remarkably well-written book by Emmy and Golden Globe-winning writer David West Read (Schitt’s Creek). With a sterling cast of wonderful actors, & Juliet takes the tragic ending of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet  and turns it on its head with a smart play within a play that explores two women’s hopes and desires for independence and self-worth.

What sets this jukebox apart is the iconic set list of smash hits all written by Max Martin who just happens to have the most #1 hits in the century -  "Since U Been Gone‚" "Roar," "Baby One More Time," "Larger Than Life‚" "That’s The Way It Is," and "Can't Stop the Feeling!".  The songs must be carefully chosen to express the sentiments of the moment and Martin has chosen wisely.

The story, while set in Shakespeare’s 14th century, seems contemporary and fresh. Rachel Simone Webb’s Juliet doesn’t kill herself over the philandering Romeo. She’s got dreams of a new life full of possibilities. This is all kicked off by the real Will Shakespeare (Corey Mach) and his estranged wife Anne (Teal Wicks) stopping the action to interject changes to his finale. Anne, like Juliet, wants more out of her life and both Will and Romeo need to learn a lot about love and commitment.

When the action moves to Paris, West adds in a gay love story with Juliet’s non-binary Best Friend May (Nick Drake) and the closeted Francois (Mateus Leite Cardoso), and a revived romance between Juliet’s nurse Angelique (Kathryn Allison) and Francois’ father Lance (Paul-Jordan Jansen). The what-if nature of the play is full of witty lines and very Shakespearean twists and turns.

The performances are top-notch, the vocals excellent even when the pop anthems sound levels are cranked up to eleven. The staging and choreography (Soutra Gilmour and Jennifer Webber respectively) are Broadway quality. Extremely crowd pleasing, & Juliet is the cream of the crop of the jukebox genre.

& Juliet continues through July 27th. Tickets are available at broadwaysf.com or by calling 877-662-8978.

Photo credits: Matthew Murphy

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