STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE SET TO A POP BEAT
After a few weather-related delays, Houston was introduced to the toe-tapping fun that is the national tour of & Juliet at The Hobby Center. Blending fireworks, both literal and metaphorical, & Juliet is a girls’ trip of self-discovery set to a jukebox score provided by powerhouse, Grammy-winning, pop songwriter and producer, Max Martin, the mastermind behind global hits from P!nk, Ke$ha, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Ellie Goulding, NSYNC, Bon Jovi and The Backstreet Boys. Flipping the original William Shakespeare tragic love story Romeo & Juliet on its ear, & Juliet picks up where the original left off. Only this time, Juliet is firmly in the driver’s seat, manifesting her own destiny.
Teal Wicks and Rachel Simone Webb
Rachel Simone Webb and Company
Teal Wicks and Corey Mach
The story this time begins with writer William Shakespeare (Corey Mach) and his wife Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks of Broadway’s The Cher Show) discussing rewriting the ending of Romeo & Juliet. The remainder of & Juliet plays out like a spirited fever dream of Hathaway’s design—only with Juliet (a fabulous Rachel Simon Webb) in control. Aided by her girl squad, a flamboyant non-binary BFF May (Nick Drake), lusty nursemaid Angelique (Kathryn Alison) and supportive gal pal, April—who is Wicks’ Hathaway writing herself in the narrative as a party girl instead of neglected wife—the troupe heads to the goodtime world of gay Paris.
Rachel Simone Webb and Company
Rachel Simone Webb and Michael Canu
Rachel Simone Webb and Mateus Leite Cardoso
While in the City of Love, both Juliet and May meet Francois (Mateus Leite Cardoso) a young man struggling with his own identity, both sexual and personal. His overbearing father, Lance (Paul-Jordan Jansen, fresh from the remarkable restaging of Sweeney Todd with Annaleigh Ashford and Josh Groban) wanting his son to either marry or join the army. These are the only choices for a directionless young man? Is Juliet the convenient answer to his prayers?
Paul-Jordan Jansen and Kathryn Allison
Nick Drake
Mateus Leite Cardoso and Rachel Simone Webb
Shakespeare concludes that this party tale lacks sufficient pathos and drama, so he decides to bring Romeo back from the dead, implicitly to complicate Juliet’s potential marriage of convenience. Listen, by this point the overall story is just silly, and this show is decidedly style over substance, but I defy anyone to not tap a toe at these familiar pop tunes being properly sung by a skilled troupe of two dozen formally trained singers. Each song punctuated with Olympian level runs. It’s tough to root for any of the “staged couples” in a story where the words are just filler to get to the next song. No offense to David West Read‘s book, but it is Max Martin’s music and lyrics that truly propel the action. Pamela Young‘s costuming and Howard Hudson‘s lighting design are straight out of Vegas, an exuberant and festive feast for the eyes. Jennifer Weber‘s choreography is a mashup of Disney’s High School Musical and MTV, hitting every mid-90s bass line with a syncopated pop and lock. Director Luke Sheppard keeps everything light and frenetic with Juliet herself literally swinging from the chandelier.
The company
Mateus Leite Cardoso and Nick Drake
Kathryn Allison
Broadway legend Patti LuPone was recently quoted as saying “Broadway, I feel as though it’s turning into Disneyland, a circus and Las Vegas” and that point certainly applies to & Juliet. A spectacle for the eyes if not the soul, the show is two and a half hours of well-sung radio hits paired with unending aerobic choreography. The current Broadway production in New York is still drawing scores of tourists, with a collection of celebrities rotating throughout the cast, including NSYNC’s Joey Fatone as the King and Dancing with the Stars‘ winner Charli D’Amelio as dancer Charmion. Will this show be remembered for an intense story or deep character development? Of course not. With that said, will high schools be performing this material for decades to come? I believe the answer to that question is a resounding yes.
Corey Mach
Corey Mach and the company
Teal Wicks, Rachel Simone Webb, Nick Drake and Kathryn Allison
& Juliet‘s greatest strength lies in its ability to transform what might be seen as disposable pop hits into lasting impressions on the canvas of imagination. Young girls can view this show as a feminist statement, even if they don’t fully understand the concept yet. With a leading lady who looks like them and takes charge of her own destiny—much like the Queens of Six The Musical or the powerful witches of Wicked—the story resonates on a deeper level. Juliet’s ending is intentionally left ambiguous, while the audience is encouraged to get up and dance, much like the joyous finale of the ABBA-fueled Mamma Mia! I challenge any child of the ’90s to leave without a smile on their face.
The Company
Michael Canu and the company
photos by Matthew Murphy
& Juliet
national tour
reviewed January 24, 2025 at Sarofim Hall at The Hobby Center in Houston
ends on January 26, 2025 (Jan 21-23 were weather-related cancellations)
tour continues; for dates and cities, visit & Juliet
