NSYNC star Joey Fatone will return to Broadway in & Juliet in 2025, succeeding original cast member Paulo Szot as Lance beginning January 21, 2025 at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The pop star will continue in the role for a nine-week engagement with a final performance set for March 16, 2025.
The performance will be Fatone's third on the Main Stem, following earlier runs in Rent and Little Shop of Horrors. The jukebox musical & Juliet draws from the song catalogue of frequent pop songwriter, and frequent NSYNC collaborator, Max Martin for its score. Though the show has characters singing NSYNC songs, Fatone is not one of them—his big numbers in the show will be songs made famous by the Backstreet Boys, who were considered NSYNC's rivals in the '90s. It seems Fatone is aware of the comedy potential of that.
“I’m excited that I’ll be joining the cast of & Juliet!” says Fatone in a statement. “I can’t wait to get out there and sing Max Martin’s amazing songs—his hits have shaped so much of pop music. And yes, I know I’ll even be singing a couple of Backstreet Boys songs. Even though my loyalty remains with NSYNC, they still have bangers. See you at the show!"
Along with Szot, the show's current cast members include Maya Boyd as Juliet, Drew Gehling as Shakespeare, Justin David Sullivan as May, Ben Jackson Walker as Romeo, Philippe Arroyo as François, Romy Vuksan as Viola, and Tony nominee Jeannette Bayardelle as Angélique, along with Daniel Assetta, Makai Hernandez, Najah Hetsberger, Joomin Hwang, Khailah Johnson, Alaina Ví Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, and Ava Noble. Sullivan, Walker, and Arroyo will play their final performances October 27.
READ: Maya Boyd Wanted to Be a Ballerina. Now She's Leading & Juliet
Beginning October 29, the production will get a largely new cast, including Alison Luff as Anne Hathaway, Liam Pearce as Romeo, Michael Iván Carrier as May, Gabe Amato as Gregory, Reese Britts as Sly, Nicholas Cooper as Lenox, Charli D'Amelio as Charmian, Jhailyn Paige Farcon as Imogen, Elsa Keefe as Eleanor/Benvolio, Alejandro MullerDahlberg as Crosse, Cassie Silva as Lucy, and Darien “Daah” Van Rensalier as Augustine. Nathan Levy will join the cast of the hit jukebox November 19 in the role of François.
The jukebox musical, nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, flips the script on the William Shakespeare classic, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn’t ended it all over Romeo. Featuring a book by David West Read, the score includes a mix of tunes by Max Martin and more, including “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “I Want It That Way,” and “Confident.”
The production also has direction by Luke Sheppard, choreography by Jennifer Weber, musical supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements by Bill Sherman, scenic design by Soutra Gilmour, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Gareth Owen, video projection design by Andrzej Goulding, hair, wig, and makeup design by J. Jared Janas, and musical direction and additional orchestrations by Dominic Fallacaro.
U.S. casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner.
The international hit musical, which opened at the Sondheim November 17, 2022, was the first new musical of the 2022–2023 Broadway season to announce its recoupment.
Drew Gehling in & Juliet
Drew Gehling in & Juliet
Betsy Wolfe and Drew Gehling in & Juliet
Betsy Wolfe and Drew Gehling in & Juliet
