What if Juliet didn’t kill herself over Romeo?
That’s the concept behind “& Juliet,” a new musical that turns Shakespeare’s classic tragedy into a rollicking feminist journey set to a hit parade of pop anthems. In this play within a play, Shakespeare’s little-known wife has designs on rewriting Juliet’s story and, in the process, rewrites her own.
The national tour of “& Juliet,” which opened on Broadway in 2022, plays through July 27 at San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre.
While the plot of jukebox musicals based on existing songs can often be hokey, the book by “Schitt’s Creek” writer David West Read is clever and often laugh-out-loud funny, deftly weaving the dialogue around a steady stream of hit songs from the late 1990s to mid-2010s by the likes of The Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, Brittney Spears and Kelly Clarkson. They’re all from the catalog of Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin, who has written more number one U.S. singles than anyone except Paul McCartney.
So, while it may seem ridiculous that Shakespeare, played by Corey Mach, first bursts onto the scene like a rock star to the Backstreet Boys’ “Larger than Life” and then duels with his wife, Anne Hathaway, played by Broadway veteran Teal Wicks – over a quill and the direction of the plot – to the band’s “I Want It That Way,” it actually works, and the audience is along for the high-energy ride.
Once Juliet is freed from her untimely end, she ventures out on a journey of self-discovery from Verona to Paris with her nonbinary best pal May, her longtime nurse Angelique and Anne, who is penning herself an adventure along with the play’s characters. The ensuing love stories are a mix of comedic and heartwarming, and the LGBTQ romance between May, played by nonbinary actor Nick Drake, and François, played by Mateus Leite Cardoso, feels especially touching and welcome in this fraught political time.
Cast Belts Out Tunes
As Juliet, Rachel Simone Webb, who was in the show’s original Broadway company, has the vocal chops to belt out tunes from Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” to Katy Perry’s “Roar,” often backed by expertly choreographed dancers garbed in hip hop-meets-Elizabethan style. And while he was initially sidelined, Romeo does make a comeback, with Michael Canu capturing the self-absorbed playboy who may also need to make some changes to figure out his own new ending.
The show is recommended for ages 8 and up (no children under 5 allowed) and includes some mild sexual innuendo, as well as occasional swearing, including the f- word in a song and its title.
How to Get Tickets
“& Juliet” plays through July 27 at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St., San Francisco. For more information and tickets ($57.92 and up), visit broadwaysf.com.
A limited number of $40 rush tickets are available in person and through the Today Tix app, as well as $30 student rush tickets for Tue.-Thu. shows two hours before showtime at the box office. Student ID required.