Rachel Webb (foreground) and ensemble (Photo by Matthew Murphy)
Reviewed by Asa Fris
Ahmanson Theatre
Through September 7th
& Juliet is a jukebox musical, featuring songs written by Max Martin & Friends, and a book written by David West Read. The show consists of a smattering of already outdated Gen Z humor, sexual jokes, fourth wall breaks, and lots of puns. Read’s book is nonsensical at best, and though Martin’s catchy songs are the real draw of the show, they often aren’t as entertaining as their originals. There is fun to be had if you like Martin’s catalogue, but you still might wonder why this show was brought here, now, and for whom?
Even if you don’t know Max Martin by name, you’re probably familiar with his work. He’s had a hand in writing or producing innumerable classic pop music hits, including …Baby One More Time, I Want It That Way, Since U Been Gone, Blinding Lights, Shake It Off, Can’t Stop The Feeling, and so on.
Read sets & Juliet in Elizabethan times, just as Shakespeare (Corey Mach) announces the newly finished ending of Romeo & Juliet. Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks) is visiting Shakespeare in London, and upon hearing her husband’s proposed ending, challenges him to write an ending where Juliet (Rachel Webb) lives instead. “Are you a strong enough man to write a stronger woman?” she chides. Then after some back and forth, and a comical use of the I Want It That Way to emphasize that Shakespeare wants the ending his way, Will agrees to let Anne co-author a new ending for Juliet.
Transition to Juliet in the tomb, where, singing Baby One More Time, she decides she would rather live. So, after having heroically opposed the oppression of her parents and by extension her society, she opts to submit to it all again. As a result, the Lady and Lord Capulet (Naima Alakham and Usman Ali Mughal) now plan to send her to a nunnery.
A flurry of nonsensical plot threads emerge. Juliet decides to leave for Paris with her nurse, Angelique (Kathryn Allison), and her new best friends, May (Nick Drake), who is non-binary, and April, a character Anne Hathaway pens for herself. Shakespeare inserts himself as their carriage driver.
The quartet arrive in Paris, where we meet Francois (Mateus Leite Cardoso) and his father Lance (Paul-Jordan Jansen), who are throwing a dance party that night. Juliet & Co. (though it feels more like Anne Hathaway & Co.) sneak into said party. There, May bumps into the meek Francois and sparks fly. Juliet also meets Francois, and sparks fly between them. And Angelique and Lance bump into each other, and their old flame is reignited.
And so it goes, with romantic entanglements proliferating. Meanwhile, Anne and Shakespeare fight because this “new” plot that has emerged is essentially the exact plot of Romeo & Juliet that she was trying to change. Frustrated, Anne quits and leaves Shakespeare at the helm. He decides it’s time for Romeo to come back to life, and so Romeo does, and thus ends Act One.
Do things tighten up in Act Two? No, unfortunately not. The second act is filled with even more arbitrary plot points and artificially inserted songs than the first.
There are multiple other problems as well, though these shortcomings primarily stem from Read’s book and Sheppard’s direction, as their respective concept and vision is unclear and pointless.
To start, little to none of the action or world of the play have much to do with the period. Anachronistic items like neon-lights, a jukebox, or skinny jeans are common, if not the standard.
Also, Read and Sheppard strive to establish that we’re watching Shakespeare’s players put on the play that he and Anne Hathaway are writing. But often Will and Anne treat the main characters as if they are real people that they have no control over. They are sometimes even surprised at their actions. There’s no logic behind the why or when folks are to be considered players or when they are to be considered characters. This interchangeability is merely a device that serves to connect one song and the next. It’s pure nonsense, and not in a creatively enjoyable manner.
The take on gender politics is questionable as well. At the party, May is rudely misgendered, prompting the singing of I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman. Throughout, characters question May’s gender identity (or lack of), but it all feels out of place. Though the rights and recognition of non-binary people, let alone intersex folks, is unfortunately a point of contention in our country, Read presents the topic with such a heavy hand and with so little nuance that its inclusion feels meaningless.
While Martin’s songs are catchy (and even personally nostalgic for me) their usage is clunky, and often requires the original lyrics to be adjusted. Often their placement in the story is a stretch. For example, in Juliet’s first scene at the tomb, she sings …Baby One More Time. However, nothing in the action, lyrics, or music spur her choice for life, and the lyrics barely fit Juliet’s situation. This inappropriateness recurs throughout, and where lyrics have been altered, they often diminish the power and energy of the original.
As to the vocals, they seem to ever so slightly lag behind the beat which also dampens the energy and punch of Martin’s energetic catalogue. Still, there are some phenomenal vocal performances. Of particular note are Rachel Webb and Kathryn Allison. Webb’s vocal performance is controlled, powerful, and rich, and she tackles a multitude of pop styles with grace and dexterity. Allison shows off a deep register that’s impressive and delightful to listen to. Paul-Jordan Jansen also deserves recognition, as he seems to enjoy every lyric and dance, and line spoken in a French accent. In fact, it felt like he was the only performer having fun.
This isn’t to say the rest of the ensemble are phoning it in. Every actor is successful in landing jokes, and conveying necessary emotions for the plot. But their success is diminished because Sheppard directs the actors to deliver many of their lines and jokes to the audience, which dampens their ability to interact with each other.
All the tech elements are well executed: Soutra Gilmour’s set design, Paloma Young’s costumes, and the hair/wig & makeup design by J. Jared Janas.
The choreography by Jennifer Weber is good, and well executed, though eventually it all begins to blend together, and falls flat. This is due in part to the numerous locations of the story that require many moving set pieces which dominate the playing space.
The marketing for & Juliet is as follows: “What would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way
But if anything, & Juliet is about Anne Hathaway feeling ignored and unloved by William Shakespeare. Here, the plot surrounding Juliet is actually more cockamamie than in Shakespeare: She rushes into a relationship even quicker and, at the end of the day, still reunites with Romeo.
Truly, even more than a story about William and Anne, & Juliet is about putting Max Martin’s songs in one soundtrack. But when the songs don’t stack up to the originals and their combination doesn’t make a whole greater than the sum of its parts, the result is an unfocused and disappointing experience.
Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown LA. See website for schedule; thru Sept. 7. www.CenterTheatreGroup.org and at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts Sept. 9 to 21. Runtime: approximately two hours with a 15 minute intermission.
