Austin Price, Editor in Chief
The Shakespeare classic, Romeo & Juliet, has long been heralded as a great love story. It spins a tale of star-crossed lovers, separated by the complicated politics of their families. As we all know, this angsty teen drama ends in the death of both lovers, showing an end to a youthful obsession with the idea of true love. Shakespeare often gave his protagonists a martyr like mentality, making his heroes the saviors of the stories, even when no one needed to be saved. Romeo & Juliet is a prime example of this narcissistic narrative, as both characters are crowned with an idea of selflessness, each willing to give their life for the other, and each willing to receive death with open arms. Despite this traditionally tragic tale of excessive commitment and complex hormones, Max Martin and Tim Headington brought reality to the classic story, accompanied by an iconic soundtrack, and embracing the diversity of “true love”.
& Juliet, a pop musical, created by Max Martin and Tim Headington asks the question, “What would happen if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo?”. The idea of a rewritten love story, that proves that popularity is not always built on tragedy, was that of Max Martin, a Swedish music executive. Martin is an icon in the world of pop music, with over dozens of chart-toppers and 5 Grammy Awards to his name. Some of his most popular songs include Britney Spears’s “...Baby One More Time”, Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life”, and The Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”.
Martin knew he wanted to fashion his songs into a musical and had a bountiful library to pull from. With an extensive catalog of over 250 songs, Martin had more than enough material to create a bombastic musical with incredible music. With the motivation to service a musical that was a great story, rather than a random collection of songs, Martin brought on Emmy Award winner and “Schitt’s Creek” writer, David West Road. Road listened to Martin’s endless catalog of work, and after identifying a recurring theme of heartbreak and young love, decided that the most famous love story, Romeo & Juliet, needed a reboot, accompanied by Martin’s genius soundtrack.
Once Road proposed a reinvention of an iconic classic, the production team enthusiastically agreed, and began to reinvent Martin’s award winning music, to create an energetic, powerful, and progressive musical. Rather than focusing on one, devastating ending, & Juliet exhibits a variety of love stories. These progressive narratives include the reunification of long lost lovers, the acceptance of a non-binary relationship, the realities of a struggling marriage, and the beauty in self love. The play picks up just before Shakespeare’s original story ends, with Romeo dead, and Juliet by his side. However, instead of taking her own life, Juliet decides to move on, experiencing her youth with vibrancy and independence. As she embarks on this journey, Juliet is accompanied by her closest friends and greatest mentors, including the writer of her new story, Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare’s wife.
The show starts with Shakespeare, played by Corey Mach, announcing to his theater troupe that he has finally decided on an ending for his play, Romeo & Juliet. His cast of performers and faithful wife Anne, played by Teal Wicks, listen as Shakespeare describes the devastating and bloody end to a whirlwind love story. Needless to say, this depressing and gorey end, not unlike most of Shakespeare’s work, was met with disdain and doubt. However, Anne proposes a different ending that isn’t so tragic, but is one of hope and discovery. In an energetic rendition of The Backstreet Boys’ hit song, “I Want It That Way”, Anne convinces Shakespeare to let her rewrite the story, and to show him that true love doesn’t have to be tragic.
With Shakespeare’s writing quill in hand, Anne creates a cast of supporters that will join Juliet, played by Rachel Simone Webb, on her journey. This ragtag group consists of May, Juliet’s best friend played by Nick Drake, Angelique, Juliet’s nurse played by Kathryn Allison, and April, Juliet’s main girlfriend embodied by Anne, Teal Wicks. With the team assembled, April/Anne leads them to a nightclub for a wild evening of dancing, drinking, and dreaming.
At the party, the group meets Frankie, played by Mateus Leite Cardoso, a young bachelor with an overbearing father and a kingdom to his name. While Frankie is excited to befriend the group and welcomes them into his home, his father Lance, played by Paul-Jordan Jansen, is less than enthused by the group crashing a classy evening of elegance and dancing. Angelique, Juliet’s nurse, is sent to Lance as a distraction, in which a love connection starts to form, based on a past relationship.
As the night goes on, Juliet and her friends perform renditions of pop songs including Demi Lavato’s hit single, “Confident", and Kesha’s party anthem, “Blow”. The characters rave to the music and each member experiences a new approach to the world. Anne, under the alias of April, reconnects with her youthful, rebellious self, revisiting a life she gave away in order to marry Shakespeare. May makes a connection with Frankie, quickly falling in love and belting out a fabulous rendition of Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl”. Angelique, spends a romantic night reigniting the flame of love with Lance, a long-lost lover from her teenage years. Finally, Juliet connects with herself, finding her worth as Juliet, and breaking away from the shadow of Romeo’s death. This metamorphosis showcases a strong, independent and confident woman, who does not need a relationship as her identifier. Shakespear watches Anne’s rewrites with contempt, believing that her changes are outlandish and ruining his story. In an attempt to get things back on track, Shakespeare revives Romeo, played by Michael Canu, bringing him to life with Bon Jovi’s classic rock anthem, “It’s My Life”.
With Romeo back in the picture, Juliet worries she will be forced to be with him, and performs a powerhouse version of Kelly Clarkson’s iconic breakup song, “Since U Been Gone,”. Despite her protests, Romeo remains adamant that he and Juliet belong together. To avoid a future with Romeo, Juliet pretends she is betrothed to Frankie, who agrees with the fantasy as it appeases his father. This leaves May heartbroken and Angelique exasperated. Anne/April watches on with sadness as her husband undermines her, yet again.
As things go from bad to worse, Shakespeare implements himself into the play, with the desire to get Romeo and Juliet back together and end the story as he initially planned. However, the reciprocation and connection of love between the characters foils his plan. May and Frankie stand up to Lance, declaring their love for one another. Lance, now blissfully reunited with Angelique accepts both of them with open arms. Juliet agrees to give her relationship with Romeo another try, after he agrees to hold off their potential marriage until they both know what they want. Everyone is finally ready for their happily ever after, except for the writers of the story, Shakespeare and Anne.
With Juliet’s story finished, Anne expresses her pain and resentment towards Shakespeare, who frequently took her and her love for granted, as he pursued his artistic endeavors. Anne begs for Shakespeare to show her the same amount of love as he does to his work, and Shakespeare is shocked to finally understand how much Anne was struggling. Anne explains that she rewrote the ending of Romeo & Juliet to reflect what her life could’ve been without giving up her dreams and passions for Shakespeare to support his career. Humbled by her honesty and ashamed of his selfishness, Shakespeare apologizes, and reassures Anne that she is his muse, and is greater than any story he could ever write. The lovers embrace, and showcase their dedication to one another, and to their marriage, in a reprise of the song that started it all, “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
As the musical comes to an end, all characters have found love, freedom, joy, and passion. Anne’s rewrites prove that love doesn’t have to be tragic, and that true love isn’t as simple as it seems. With the entire cast reunited onstage, the final number is a celebration with singing and dancing to Justin Timberlake’s song, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”. Through her progressive revisions, Anne introduces Shakespreare to new ways of love, and Shakespeare is reminded of his original inspiration in his beloved wife.