Review: & JULIET at Shea's Buffalo Theatre

Everything old is new again. That saucy playwright William Shakespeare continues to ignite audience's imagination, with two separate shows in Buffalo this month alone. But wait, not really his own plays, but plays based on the Bard's own writing. SOMETHING ROTTEN at Musicalfare has would be competitors trying to out-write him, while the new National Tour of  & JULIET, now playing at Shea's, aims to pit Mrs. Shakespeare (Anne Hathaway) against her own husband to write a better version of ROMEO AND JULIET.

In what can only be described as one of the cleverest bits of writing in recent years, the brilliant script by David Rest Read (of SCHITT'S CREEK fame) somehow manages to find a way to update Shakespeare's most famous romantic tragedy and make it a story of empowering women. What would happen if Juliet did not kill herself and leaves Verona to find happiness?   Anne Hathaway challenges her husband to avoid the dreary ending, and  fashion a new production where the action unfolds as the husband and wife extemporaneously write the new script, as the actors act it out.

The score is of the "jukebox musical genre," where pop songs are wedged in when needed, and in this case, allow current musical trends and dance moves to morph with Elizabethan inspired rock and roll costumes. The result works quite well, with choices that are often brilliant.

The cast is topnotch from ensemble to principal characters, including a group of young, energetic  triple threats, who sometimes blur the lines of  race, gender identity and body type images often associated with glitzy musicals.

Rachel Simone Webb is a beauty of a Juliet, with a voice  that easily maneuvers the heavy pop score. Her Juliet is  young and confused but blossoms to a better understanding of her own self worth. Webb entrances in her singing, whether plaintive or belting ala Whitney Houston.

Shakespeare is a modern day control freak, played by the funny Corey Mach. But wife Anne is a strong competitor, as played by the enormously talented Teal Wicks. Wicks is tiny in stature, but large in opinion and voice. She is funny and smart in delivering a portrayal of the strong woman behind her "great man." The famous couple had their own demons, and each use these in morphing the well know R&J story into something more meaningful and representative of their personal lives. Mach gets to deliver lots of classic Shakespearean quotes as his own "one liners" and the are groan inducingly funny.

After Juliet fleas Verona to Paris, alongside her bestie May (Nick Drake), Mrs. S and her nurse Angelique, the new story gets rolling. We meet a closeted Francois, whose father Lance (Paul-Jordan Janden) is throwing a party to help Francois find a girlfriend. Lance and Angelique (Kathryn Allison) had a past romance, May struggles with his sexuality, and Juliet continues to make some bad decisions in the romance department.

Nick Drake is wonderful in his interactions with Francois, as this duo also fight the battles of an unconventional romance- being gay in the 1600's would be difficult!  Drakes moves and sings effortlessly, while Mateus Leite Cardoso is perfectly cast as the awkward and nerdy Francois- but can that boy sing!

Jansen and Allison are both powerhouses in their own rights, as their truly adult love is rekindled . Allison is sassy and self sufficient while Jansen falls madly in love with her again for the second time, to comic effect.

And let's not forget Romeo, who by the second act is brought back to life  ( a plot Mr. and Mrs. S. use to try and usurp each other's ideas). Michael Canu is the shining young lover, who has slept around but feels Juliet should be eager to have him back from the dead. Canu gets great laughs and is boyishly charismatic.

The large score (by Max Martin and Friends) includes "I Want it That Way," "Oops, I Did it Again," "Love Me Like you Do," "Show Me Love," "Teenage Dream," and countless  others that surprisingly work very well in this new tale.

Director Luke Sheppard and Choreographer Jennifer Weber work in perfect harmony seamlessly  moving the action from intimate scenes to large production numbers to all out concert numbers from this cast of pop stars and even a boy band. The result is a deliciously clever creation that always delights.

The large candy colored set by Soutra Gilmour is accompanied by the   brilliant projections of  Andrzej Goulding alongside  flying pieces where Juliet flies high above the stage on a chandelier, then sits high atop an amusement park ride with her beloved Romeo.

Costumes by Paloma Young show modern day clothing  easily seen at 21st century clubs mixed with Elizabethan tunics, cod pieces, capes, corsets and gowns.

With abounding creativity, this & JULIET is a welcome surprise of a musical when so much of Broadway has resorted to revivals,  musicals based on old movies or singer-song writer catalog musicals. Although Romeo and Juliet is the springboard, the trajectory of this new script hit all the heights. 

& JULIET plays at Shea's Buffalo Theatre through November 24, 2024. Contact sheas.org for more information.