“Never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
That is how William Shakespeare’s canonical “Romeo and Juliet” ends, but for the acclaimed jukebox musical “& Juliet,” it’s where the story starts.
At the Segerstrom Center for the Arts through Sept. 21, pop songs help imagine a new ending for theater’s arguably best-known teenagers. Featuring the music of legendary songwriter and producer Max Martin with book by David West Read, best known for his Emmy-award winning writing on “Schitt’s Creek,” direction by Luke Sheppard and choreography by Jennifer Weber, the show features an uptempo playlist.
Rather than “un-aliving” herself at the discovery of Romeo’s death, Juliet, played by Lois Ellise, uses the lyrics of “… Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears to express her shock and dismay at the loss of her (pop) star-crossed lover.
“Oh, baby, baby, How was I supposed to know, That somethin’ wasn’t right here?”
The lyrics of pop songs — “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” by the Backstreet Boys, “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry and “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson — narrate the storytelling; each needle drop was received with joyful surprise by the audience at a recent performance.
In this telling, Juliet decides to leave Verona, Italy, and bring along her best friend, a non-binary May played by Nick Drake. May is a perfectly Shakespearean character who challenges ideas on gender conformity while setting the stage for a moving rendition of “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” also by Spears.
Rachel Simone Webb and the company of the North American Tour of “& Juliet”, playing at Segerstrom through Sept. 21.
(Matthew Murphy)
Juliet’s journey takes her to Paris, where she vows to seek love on her own terms. She ultimately finds her independence, but not before meeting Lance, a confused young man played by Paul-Jordan Jansen, with whom she enters into another misguided relationship, escaping the resurrected Romeo, played by Michael Canu.
Juliet isn’t the only woman who earns redemption. Her nurse, Angelique, played by Kathryn Allison, gets an entire backstory with a love of her own.
Even Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, played by Teal Wicks, features prominently. Despite little being known about her historically, in this retelling Hathaway is a quill-wielding editor, re-writing her husband’s famous play with a feminist slant.
The music used to remix “&Juliet” isn’t in short supply. Martin achieved the status of music producer with the most No. 1 hits of all time when his collaboration with Ariana Grande on her “Eternal Sunshine” album gave him his 25th Billboard No. 1 as a producer and 27th as a songwriter.
In addition to working on hit songs with Spears, the Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry, Martin is responsible for Celine Dion’s “That’s the Way It Is,” NSYNC’s “It’s Gonna Be Me” and The Weekend’s “Can’t Feel My Face” — all of which find their way into the musical.
While jukebox musicals aren’t a new concept, the vocal prowess of Ellise and cast paired with the energetic dance numbers and recognizable score make “& Juliet” feel more like a pop concert than a musical.
“& Juliet” is showing now at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa through Sept. 21. Tickets, which start at $44, are available at scfta.org.