William Shakespeare is introduced by the cast at his first production of Romeo and Juliet, and welcomes the audience to his newest play ("Larger than Life"). Shakespeare then also introduces his wife, Anne Hathaway, who is visiting from Stratford-upon-Avon to see the play. She suggests he change the ending, wondering what would have happened if Juliet did not kill herself, much to Shakespeare's displeasure ("I Want It That Way"). Nevertheless, Shakespeare allows his wife to explain her idea for the play, which begins with Juliet waking up to find Romeo dead ("...Baby One More Time").
At Romeo's funeral, Juliet finds out that Romeo had many other relationships, with both men and women ("Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely") and, upon learning of their forbidden relationship, Juliet's parents decide they will send her to a convent. May, Juliet's non-binary friend, and Angelique, her nurse, come to her rescue, while Anne writes herself into the play as 'April', another of Juliet's friends. The four of them decidee to take a road trip to Paris ("Domino"). Anne writes Shakespeare into her story as well, as a carriage driver, as the trip to Paris begins ("Show Me Love").
Once in France, a party is set up for Francois, a new character. His father, Lance, tells him he must either marry or join the army, even though Francois does not wish to pursue either option. Meanwhile, Juliet, Angelique, May, and April sneak into the party ("Blow"). Francois notices their arrival, but does not mind them crashing his party. May tells Juliet about their struggles as a non-binary person in a binary world ("I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman"). Francois and Juliet begin to bond about their stifled lives and shared experiences ("Overprotected"). Francois finds himself attracted to Juliet, and they dance together ("Confident").
Angelique and Lance spend the night together, and it is revealed that she was formerly the nurse to his children. Lance asks her to stay, while Angelique wants to continue to look after Juliet ("Teenage Dream/Break Free"). Juliet wakes up next to Francois, who proposes, causing Juliet to agonise about her previous relationship with Romeo ("Oops!... I Did It Again"). When her parents arrive to take her to the convent, she quickly accepts Francois's proposal, before discovering Angelique and Lance's previous relationship. Anne challenges Shakespeare for forcing Juliet to marry again, and complains that he never writes about happy marriages.
Deciding that he needs to introduce a conflict or a plot twist to Anne's version of the play, Shakespeare has Francois and May meet again. After the two share a sudden kiss, they both feel conflicted ("I Kissed a Girl"). Making things even more complicated, Shakespeare intends to bring Romeo back from the dead, despite Anne's protests. Romeo arrives and declares his return, saying that he has come back for his wife ("It's My Life").
Act Two
Romeo finds Juliet, forgives her for not killing herself, and wants to go back to being married to her ("Love Me Like You Do"). Juliet reveals to Romeo she's now engaged to Francois ("Since U Been Gone"). Shakespeare is frustrated with Anne because Juliet did not listen to Romeo's side of events. Anne counters that this is important to her and that she feels Shakespeare cares more about his plays than his family. Angered, Anne breaks Shakespeare's quill, meaning that neither of them can make any further changes to the story.
May grows angry at Francois for ignoring their feelings and for still planning on marrying Juliet ("Whataya Want From Me"), while Juliet complains to May that Romeo lied to her. Francois grows worried, as he hasn't told Juliet about his feelings for May.
Romeo and Juliet meet up again, where Romeo reflects that he only ever felt valued for his looks and that Juliet made him want to be a better person ("One More Try"). Despite their recent bonding, Juliet remains unsure of her feelings towards Romeo ("Problem/Can't Feel My Face"). Francois's brother (in fact Shakespeare in disguise) invites Romeo to join the family band, who will play at Juliet and Francois's wedding. Angelique, in the meantime, proposes to Lance.
Anne discovers that Juliet is still in love with Romeo and recounts her own romance with Shakespeare ("That's the Way It Is"). At the wedding, Shakespeare, May, Francois, Lance and Romeo perform ("Everybody"). Francois begins to read his vows to Juliet ("As Long as You Love Me"). However, both Juliet and Francois change their minds about getting married, with Francois confessing his feelings for May ("It's Gonna Be Me"). This prompts Romeo to again confess his love to Juliet while her parents insist she return to Verona with them, stating that they know what's best for her, which Juliet refutes ("Stronger").
Lance apologizes to Francois and accepts his and May's relationship ("Shape of My Heart"). Angelique reassures Juliet that she will never leave her ("Fuckin' Perfect"), but Juliet insists Angelique goes with Lance, before deciding to be confident and take charge of her own destiny ("Roar").
Shakespeare complains that Anne ruined his play, and that he only brought back Romeo to give Juliet the happy ending he thought Anne wanted. Anne refutes this, saying she wants Juliet to be able to make her own choices. Realizing he has hurt Anne, Shakespeare apologizes ("I Want It That Way – Reprise").
Shakespeare and Anne agree there does not need to be a conclusive ending, rather a new beginning. Romeo apologizes to Juliet and they decide to go on a first date, Angelique and Lance get married, and Francois and May begin a relationship.
& Juliet is a jukebox musical and featured existing music co-written by Max Martin, except for the new original song "One More Try", performed on the cast recording by Jessie J.
The show premiered in the West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 2 November 2019, in previews, ahead of an official opening on 20 November 2019.[18] All of the cast from the Manchester run of the show transferred for the West End engagement, directed by Luke Sheppard.[19]
On 16 March 2020, the show suspended production due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]& Juliet resumed performances on 24 September 2021.[21] All of the main cast returned to the show, with the exception of Blair-Mangat, whose role as May was taken over by Alex Thomas-Smith.[22]
On 26 March 2022, La Barrie, Bedella, and Gage departed & Juliet.[23] The role of Nurse/Angelique was played by Keala Settle, in her West End debut, from 29 March until 18 June 2022.[24] In February 2022, it was announced that Julius D'Silva was cast as Lance and Tom Francis was cast as Romeo.[25]
The West End production closed on 25 March 2023.[26]
Toronto (2022)
& Juliet had a pre-Broadway engagement at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, Canada.[27] The North American premiere was originally scheduled to open in February 2021, but was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It opened on 22 June 2022, and ran through 14 August 2022.[28]
On 6 May 2022, the cast was announced. It starred Lorna Courtney as Juliet, with Stark Sands as Shakespeare, Betsy Wolfe as Anne/April, Melanie La Barrie reprising her role as Angelique the Nurse, Paulo Szot as Lance, Ben Jackson Walker as Romeo, Justin David Sullivan as May, and Philippe Arroyo as Francois.[29]
In August 2021, it was announced that & Juliet would transfer to Broadway following a pre-Broadway engagement in Toronto.[27] All of the cast from the pre-Broadway engagement transferred to Broadway production.[30]& Juliet opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, with previews on 28 October 2022 ahead of an official opening on 17 November 2022.[31] The producers on Broadway are Max Martin, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Jenny Petersson, Martin Dodd, Eva Price, Lukasz Gottwald, 42nd.club (Phil Kenny, Tom McGrath and Marc Hershberg), Independent Presenters Network, Jack Lane, Library Company, Shellback, Shivhans Pictures, Sing Out, Louise!, Kim Szarzynski, Taylor/Riegler, Tenenbaum/Keyes, Barry Weiss and John Gore Organization.[32] On 2 May 2023, the production received nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical.[33]
Australia (2023 - 2024)
In May 2022, it was announced that & Juliet would make its Australian premiere at the Regent Theatre in February 2023.[6]
On 29 November 2022, the Australian cast was announced. It stars Lorinda May Merrypor as Juliet, with Rob Mills as Shakespeare, Amy Lehpamer as Anne/April, Casey Donovan as Angelique the Nurse, Hayden Tee as Lance, Blake Appelqvist as Romeo, Jesse Dutlow as May, and Yashith Fernando as Francois.[34]
The show opened with previews on 26 February 2023, ahead of an official opening on 9 March 2023,[34] before closing on 29 July 2023,[35] with the show having been set to reopen for a run at Singapore's Sands Theatre in Marina Bay in September.[36]
Singaporean and Australian Tour (2023–2024)
In April 2023 it was announced that following the closure of the Melbourne production, the Australian cast would tour to Singapore in September 2023, for the show's Asian premiere.[36] The show premiered on 21 September, at the Sands Theatre in Marina Bay, and closed on 15 October 2023.[37]
On 17 August 2023, it was announced that the show would tour to the Crown Theatre in Perth and premiered on 30 December 2023.[38]
On 23 August 2023, & Juliet announced that Sydney would be the second city on the Australian tour and that the show would have its previews from 27 February to 6 March 2024, before its official premiere on 8 March at the Sydney Lyric.[39][40] The Australian production closed in Sydney on 12 July 2024.
UK tour (2024–2025)
Following its closure in the West End, it was announced that the show will tour the UK in 2024.[41] In October 2023, the tour was announced to begin in the original production's location at the Manchester Opera House on 8 July 2024, before touring across the UK and Ireland.[42]
North American Tour (2024)
In April 2023, it was announced that the show will launch a North American national tour in Fall 2024. The tour is scheduled to begin in Baltimore, Maryland and will have engagements in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Charlotte, and San Francisco, with more cities, casting and dates to be announced at a later date.[43] In May 2024, it was announced that Rachel Webb would be playing Juliet on the North American Tour. On August 15, 2024 it was announced that the North American tour cast would also feature Corey Mach as Shakespeare, Paul-Jordan Jansen as Lance, Teal Wicks as Anne Hathaway, Nick Drake as May, Kathryn Allison as Angélique, Michael Canu as Romeo, and Mateus Leite Cardoso as François.
Planned German production (2024)
In October 2023, the show announced that it would be launching a German production, to be titled as & Julia, which is scheduled to premiere at the Operettenhaus in Hamburg on 30 October 2024.[44][45]
Planned Canadian production (2025)
In October 2024, it was announced that & Juliet will receive a Canadian production, and will play at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto with performance beginning in December 2025.[46]
Planned Japan production (TBA)
In November 2023, the show's music supervisor, orchestrator and arranger Bill Sherman revealed in an interview that a Japanese production had been planned.[47]
Reception
& Juliet's West End run, which began officially on 20 November 2019, opened with generally mixed reviews. This was due to its lack of themes and its general shallowness. However, there was a lot of praise put upon the cast and crew. The music, utilizing the full discography of Max Martin, was identified as the show's "saving grace." It was also praised for its representation of a non-binary character.[48]
& Juliet had positive reviews upon its Broadway release 17 November 2022. Some praised its high energy and its easy and fun tone, calling it a "breath of fresh air" for the general populace during the tumultuous time which it was released in. It was also praised for the diverse casting and its sense of humour.[49] However, others critiqued the immaturity of the politics and the lack of clear foundation, as well as critiquing the spectacle as feeling like it was "overcompensating."[50]
& Juliet opened to positive reviews in Melbourne, citing strong cast performances and the music as the show's strengths, despite the book's weaknesses.[51]
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↑ Broadway's & Juliet | Cast and Creatives. YouTube (Videotape). Interviewed by Suzette Bishop. Talks at Google. 1 November 2023. Event occurs at 55:09. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via YouTube. There's a UK tour, there's a national tour that starts in Baltimore and ... there's a tour in Germany, ... and Japan, and the rest of Australia
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