Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In the smart and sensationally energizing & JULIET, Broadway has found a worthy successor to MAMMA MIA!

• By drediman
• November 30, 2022
• No Comments

Earlier this fall, the new musical & Juliet opened on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Having proved a solid hit across the pond in London’s West End, the jukebox musical has successfully arrived in New York — by way of a North American premiere run in Toronto — on a wave of positive word of mouth. With the expansive pop songbook of Swedish songwriter Max Martin (who has written chart-toppers for the likes of Celine Dion, The Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and so on) at its disposal, the musical was designed to be an upbeat sequel of sorts to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, one in which both the Bard and his wife Anne Hathaway imagine the continuation of the tale had Juliet not died at the end of the famous tragedy.

Since the Main Stem production of Mamma Mia! shuttered back in 2015, Broadway has been searching for a replacement that can replicate that musical’s uncanny ability to consistently induce euphoric, feel good emotions. Well, we may just have gotten a worthy successor in the sensationally energizing guilty pleasure that is & Juliet. Mr. Martin’s decades spanning catalog of pop hits means that multiple generations will find something to look forward and instantly latch to, thereby maximizing the musical’s appeal even before audiences step foot in the theater. The woke, pun-heavy book by David West Read (of Schitt’s Creek fame) is a pure delight and much smarter than you’re initially led to believe. Indeed, it sneaks in the hit songs in the most delectable ways, both to satisfying — and at times surprising — comedic and dramatic effect. In summary, you probably won’t have a more effortlessly enjoyable time at a Broadway musical than at & Juliet.

The production has been directed with glitz and plenty of goodwill by Luke Sheppard, who has given the musical a busy bubblegum/confectionary aesthetic, playfully alluding to Elizabethan times, the Renaissance, as well as our contemporary world. With the exception of Melanie La Barrie’s jubilant performance as the Nurse, the New York cast is new to the show, and they make a giddy good time of it. As Juliet, Lorna Courtney is a breath of fresh air, giving the title role a sassy yet sweet disposition that’s impossible not to cheer for. Other standouts include Stark Sand’s douchy but endearing Shakespeare, Betsy Wolfe’s strong-willed and strong-voiced (and completely loveable) Anne Hathaway, and Paulo Szot’s hilariously against type performance as Lance.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

& JULIET
Broadway, Musical
Stephen Sondheim Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Open run