Reviews: What Do Critics Think of Broadway's Shakespeare-Goes-Pop Musical & Juliet? | Playbill

The Verdict Reviews: What Do Critics Think of Broadway's Shakespeare-Goes-Pop Musical & Juliet?

Lorna Courtney stars as the titular heroine as she gets a rewrite on her story, infused with pop anthems from Grammy winner Max Martin.

Lorna Courtney in & Juliet Matthew Murphy

Critics are sharing their thoughts on & Juliet, Broadway's anachronistic jukebox musical that explores what would have happened if Shakespeare's Juliet had decided to live her life after Romeo dies. The West End transfer (via Toronto) opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre November 17 after beginning previews October 28.

Packed with a catalog of pop songs written by Grammy winner Max Martin, Lorna Courtney plays Shakespeare's heroine in this reimagining of the lovestruck teenager's tragic ending.Also starring in the cast are Tony winner Paulo Szot as Lance, Tony nominee Stark Sands as Shakespeare, Betsy Wolfe as Anne Hathaway, Justin David Sullivan as May, Ben Jackson Walker as Romeo, Philippe Arroyo as Francois, and original U.K. cast member Melanie La Barrie as Nurse.

Read the reviews here.

Broadway News (Brittani Samuel)

Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*

Citi Tour (Brian Scott Lipton)

Daily Beast (Tim Teeman)

Deadline (Greg Evans)

Did They Like It? (Juan Michael Porter II)

Entertainment Weekly (Leah Greenblatt)

New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)

New York Stage Review (Frank Scheck)

New York Stage Review (Melissa Rose Bernardo)

New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)

New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)

New York Times (Jesse Green)*

Queerty (Matthew Wexler)

Talkin' Broadway (Howard Miller)

Theater Pizzazz (Carole Di Tosti)

Theatermania (Hayley Levitt)

Theatrely (Juan A. Ramirez)

Time Out (Adam Feldman)

Variety (Christian Lewis)

Vulture (Jackson McHenry)*

The Wrap (Robert Hofler)

*This review requires creating a free account or a paid subscription.

Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.

The Company of & Juliet Matthew Murphy

Rounding out the company are Brandon Antonio, Michael Iván Carrier, Nico DeJesus, Nicholas Edwards, Virgil Gadson, Bobby "Pocket" Horner, Joomin Hwang, Megan Kane, Alaina Vi Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, Joe Moeller, Brittany Nicholas, Veronica Otim, Jasmine Rafael, Matt Raffy, Tiernan Tunnicliffe, and Rachel Webb.

Luke Sheppard directs the Broadway production, reuniting his full West End creative team including choreographer Jennifer Weber, scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, costume designer Paloma Young, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen, video and projections designer Andrzej Goulding, and hair designer J. Jared Janas. Bill Sherman serves as musical supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger, with Dominic Fallacaro as music director. Casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner.

SEE: Shakespeare's Tragic Heroine Juliet Goes Pop in New Photos of Broadway's & Juliet

Featuring a book by Emmy winner David West Read (Schitt's Creek), the score of songs by Martin is filled with familiar pop songs from the last three decades, such as “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life,” “That’s The Way It Is,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling." The musical already released its original Broadway cast recording—including a bonus track featuring leading lady Lorna Courtney dueting with three-time Kelly Clarkson on "Since U Been Gone"—October 28 to coincide with the beginning of previews.

Martin also serves as producer alongside Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Jenny Petersson, and Martin Dodd, with Eva Price serving as executive producer.

Watch Lorna Courtney perform "Roar" on America's Got Talent.

 
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!