Combine incredible pop music, inclusivity, female empowerment, stunning visuals, several banging puns, and you'll get the pop musical & Juliet. This feel-good coming-of-age jukebox musical poses as a huge reminder to grab life by the throat, and dive headfirst into its beautiful mess.
The musical garnered several accolades including the Laurence Olivier Awards and Mousetrap Awards. Which honestly shouldn’t come as a shocker because after all, it was written by acclaimed television writer, playwright and producer David West Read, accompanied with music by the one and only Grammy Award-winning record producer and songwriter Max Martin.
In William Shakespeare’s famous lovetale, Romeo and Juliet, the story goes something like this: Romeo dies, Juliet dies, love is tragic, the end. However, in this production, Anne Hathaway (played by Amy Lehpamer), wife of William Shakespeare (played by Rob Mills), is sick of her husband’s penchant for tragic endings and proposes a rewrite to change the course of this tale. She asks boldly, almost desperately: what if Juliet had not killed herself? What if she took charge of her life instead of ending it for someone she literally just met? And bam, just like that, new age Juliet (played by Lorinda May Merrypor) was born.
It all starts when Juliet realises at Romeo’s funeral that he has been nothing more than a reckless heartbreaker. With the support of her nurse Angelique (Casey Donovan), Anne, and her close friend May (Jesse Dutlow), they all rally behind her as they embark on a journey to Paris together. There, her life unfolds with a series of events, eventually empowering Juliet to Break Free and take charge of her own life.
The show is brought to life with timeless eargasms from pop icons such as Katy Perry, Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys – all sung with vocals so powerful and full of emotion, we couldn’t help but raise our hands in applause. The way the lyrics seamlessly meld with the script is also nothing short of a mind-blowing revelation. At more than one juncture, two characters were entangled in distinct narratives and singing two songs in unison, yet with impeccable synchrony such that everything fit together like a snugly worn glove.
The cast is decked out in cleverly remixed Elizabethan-period garments, where striking purple stockings peek through crinoline-held organza skirts, and eighteenth-century headwear meets distressed denim jeans. If that isn’t exuberant enough, their stage presence is further enhanced by the vibrant, sparkling suburban set illuminated with neon-infused graffiti and striking visuals. Here’s a reminder not to blink as you’ll miss the set’s seamless transitions – we’re talking about going from a scene at a nightclub to a restroom in under five seconds.
Parodies of the Backstreet Boys' timeless hit Everybody, Lance's unexpected breaking of character midway, portrayed brilliantly by Hayden Tee, and a plethora of butt-clenching puns had the entire audience grinning from ear to ear.
This enchanting musical, with its playful facade, addresses several familiar modern-day concerns. It elegantly champions the LGBTQ+ community, highlights the spirit of female empowerment, delves into the very heart of authentic love, and breaks the stereotype on it by highlighting the importance of all sorts of relationships.
The only issue we have is that it ends all too quickly – and that’s saying something, considering that the musical is a three-hour-long extravaganza. What else is there to add except to say, Hit Me Baby One More Time, because we would gladly watch it again in a heartbeat.
& Juliet is showing at the Sands Theatre from September 21 to October 15. Don't miss out and book your tickets here.
