Review: & JULIET Rewrites a Classic in Rhode Island

& Juliet is a reimagining of the Romeo & Juliet story where — rather than kill herself —Juliet reconsiders her hasty relationship with Romeo, and instead goes off on an adventure with her friends. This show features the songs of Swedish super producer/ songwriter Max Martin, who may not be a known name to everyone, but who has been responsible for most of the most popular songs of the past 20 years including hits from Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry. There is a great well of music to draw from — and the talented cast delivers them with spirit and skill. The exceptional cast and witty book make this show very fun, but — as is often the case with jukebox musicals —it gets bogged down by having to shoehorn in and cater to so many songs. It’s a very well-executed production built on a shaky musical premise.

The story of & Juliet is introduced by William Shakespeare (Cory Mach), who is feeling very proud of himself for creating such a gut wrenching play, when he is interrupted by his wife Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks), who has some feedback. She is tired of all these tragic endings and wants to give Juliet a chance to follow her own path.  The two of them agree to collaborate on Juliet’s continuing adventures without Romeo, with a few squabbles and disagreements along the way.

Despite a rather thin plot, this show still sparkles due to the depth of talent among the cast.  Rachel Simone Webb as Juliet is outstanding–she also played this role on Broadway.  Her voice is clear and bright and her stage presence is commanding.  It’s refreshing to watch a show where the women really take control of the narrative, in particular, Teal Wicks as Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife) basically steals the plot from Shakespeare and even inserts herself directly into the play to make sure things go the way she wants. Wicks gives this character a good amount of attitude, while also bringing depth and raw emotion in a more serious moment.

Juliet’s squad also includes her nurse Angelique (Kathryn Allison) and bestie May (Nick Drake), both of whom are phenomenal.  May’s rendition of I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman is heartbreaking and powerful.  Special mention has to be made for the book writer David West Read, who infused the script with cheeky turns of phrase and puns worthy of the bard himself.  Choreography by Jennifer Weber is high energy and fun but not distracting, and works incredibly well with Howard Hudson’s creative and whimsical lighting design.

While not all of the songs work well in this production, in some instances, hearing such familiar music presented in a different way is a rather profound experience.  This is also what often makes this show frustrating.  It has a lot of potential to be something new, but since the whole musical is in service to songs that don’t always make sense in the larger context, it undermines itself.  Despite this reviewer’s exasperation with jukebox musicals, the rest of the audience seemed unbothered.  People were dancing in their seats, singing along, and they gave the cast an exuberant standing ovation.

& Juliet is at Providence Performing Arts Center Febryary 25-March 2. Tickets are available at ppacri.org

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