A must-see, no ifs, ands, or buts: ‘& Juliet’ thru Broadway in Chicago
The Company. Photo by Matthew Murphy.
& Juliet, the raucous, Shakespeare-adjacent pop musical, premiered on the West End in 2019 and took Broadway by storm with nine Tony nominations in 2023. Its first national tour, playing a quick stop at the Cadillac Palace, deserves to be a pre-holiday magnet for all fans of ‘90s pop music and/or a get-up-and-dance night in the Loop.
This show is a pun-filled musical theatre love child of Something Rotten and Rock of Ages, with a splash of The Last Five Years thrown in as a nod to the artistic/marital angst experienced here by William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway.
But it’s all built around Max Martin’s epic music. The songbook is a mash-up of Martin’s greatest hits. The Swedish record producer and songwriter rose to prominence in the 1990s for his hit singles performed by Britney Spears ("...Baby One More Time"), the Backstreet Boys ("I Want It That Way"), Celine Dion ("That's the Way It Is"), NSYNC "It's Gonna Be Me" and a score of other number-one Hot 100 bops stretching into the 20-teens. What songs are used, and how, is part of the surprise and the fun.
With continuous and hilarious lead-ins to Martin’s lyrics, the book by David West Read (best known for TV’s Schitt’s Creek) posits what would happen if Juliet decided not to take her own life, in no small part thanks to Anne giving Will a good shove here and there. But Juliet is far from the only character changed. Terrific arcs empower Anne to demand more from her playwright husband and other characters to blissfully find acceptance and claim true love on their own terms.
Rachel Simone Webb, who covered the title role on Broadway, gorgeously and magnificently leads the touring cast. Her stellar dance moves and simultaneously powerful and dulcet vocals parallel those of Broadway’s finest leading ladies. Nick Drake also shines brightly as May, Juliet’s queer best friend, as do Teal Wicks (Anne) and Corey Machas (William) as the Shakespeares. One other specific nod among an overall vibrant cast of triple threats goes to Paul-Jordan Jansen. One of this reviewer’s favorite performers, Jansen amplified his professional musical theatre resume in Chicagoland before heading to New York, where he understudied the lead role of Broadway’s Sweeney Todd. His booming presence and voice combine with a gentle demeaner to offer a high-quality asset for any musical company.
This touring production of & Juliet is well staged by Director Luke Sheppard and tremendously choreographed by Jennifer Weber. The characters are bathed in the visuals and intricate lighting of Soutra Gilmour and Howard Hudson and adorned in the costumes and hair/cosmetics from, respectively, Paloma Young and J. Jared Janas.
Indeed, an entire village of professionals team to offer one brilliant evening (or afternoon) of larger-than-life fun. So for all those who have been shown the meaning of feeling lonely this holiday season, maybe some self-care at & Juliet will allow one to break free, bringing back that confident demeanor. Can’t stop that feeling? Who would want to?
& Juliet runs through Dec. 15 at 151 W. Randolph St. For tickets or more information, please call (800) 775-2000 or visit broadwayinchicago.com.
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