By Emily Henderson
When worshiping at the altar of theater greatness, few names come to mind.
One may say Tennessee Williams and his brutal portrayals of realistic American life; or someone may think across the pond of Oscar Wilde and his hilarious depictions of stiff European values. But, what is probably the most common answer in terms of influential playwrights takes it all the way back to the 14th century, with none other than William Shakespeare.
The Bard is many people’s first introduction to the many worlds he and his characters inhabit— Old English, theatre, love, loss, and much more. If you are anything like me, this journey started in a 9th grade English class, with his most famous work Romeo & Juliet— the love story to end all love stories.
Yes, everyone knows the story of the Capulet and Montague families’ bitter war with each other, and the tragic end that meets their lovesick children. But what if there was a way to bring that story to the modern age? To allow it to come to life, bringing in modern day ideals, for a whole new generation to enjoy? That is where the jukebox musical & Juliet begins.
& Juliet tells the story after the story of Juliet Capulet (Rachel Simone Webb).
Through the lens of none other than Shakespere’s (Corey Mach) somewhat forgotten wife, Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks), she gives a feminist perspective to this classic tale, asking the question “What if Juliet got to live?” Using pop anthems ranging from Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” to Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time,” Juliet and a whole range of characters explore the idea of what it means to live for yourself.
Now, you too can witness the magic of this modern retelling come to life in beautiful Southern California! Directed by Luke Sheppard, & Juliet will be playing at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from Aug. 13 to Sept. 7, and at The Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa from Sept 9. to Sept 21. Tickets for The Ahmanson’s performances can be purchased online through CenterTheatreGroup.org; their Audience Service’s phone number at 213.628.2772; or at their Box Office, located at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012. Tickets for The Center’s performances can be purchased “online at scfta.org, in person at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, and by phone at 714.556.2787.”
If you cannot get enough & Juliet in your life, there is also a new exhibit at The Grammy Museum dedicated to the songwriter that helped bring the production to life— Max Martin. Martin has an illustrious 30-year career, writing songs for some of the biggest popstars in the world, and winning multiple Grammys for it. Now in his later life, he traded one stage for another, helping, producing, and writing musicals, such as & Juliet. Now you can explore the creative process for yourself with “& Juliet: The Music of Max Martin and Friends.”
The exhibit spans over two floors of the Museum, with the fourth floor exhibit involving costumes, sheet music, and interviews with the behind-the-scenes creatives. Kelsey Goelz, the exhibit curator of the Grammy Museum explains that with the Museum, it is always “Music first.” She continues, saying that the exhibit is a physical manifestation of “Shakespeare’s world and Max Martin’s world colliding in real time.” One exciting note is the two costumes worn by none-other than Martin collaborator Britney Spears, during her 1999 “Baby One More Time” headliner tour, and her fourth and “self-proclaimed favorite” Dream Within a Dream tour, a favorite archival find by the Curator herself.
The second floor then brings you to the modern age, with modern technology where you can help remix songs from the musical! Using motion sensor tech, walk up to a speaker, and depending on how close or far you are is how much of that certain instrument/voice is present in the song playing. The exhibit will be open until Oct. 27. For more information and tickets to the exhibit, you can visit www.grammymuseum.org.
& Juliet helps update the Shakespearean play into the modern age. While still keeping the core ideas of the classic story, the production modernizes it to be overall more inclusive, but also easy for the audience to understand, even if they have never been introduced to the Bard and his tales previously. That is due in large part to the poppy soundtrack strategically placed throughout the show. Michael Canu, who plays Romeo, delves deeper into this, stating that “[the way the songs are incorporated into the story] makes the actor’s job pretty easy.”
He continues by saying that despite the ‘new-ness’ of & Juliet, there are still “nods to the original story of Romeo & Juliet, not just through the spoken word, but through costumes, and other things like that.” For instance, Romeo adorns a leather biker jacket emblazoned with ‘Montague’ on the bike, but it has the stylistic details and embroidery of something from the Elizabethan era— a combination of older with newer.
While there are many stories that now spin vintage stories to the modern, Webb explains that & Juliet brings its own twist to the idea, stating that “It is real[ly] feminist.” Juliet is finally getting the story that she deserves, and the voice that many women tragically do not have, even today. & Juliet is championing for marginalized people to be heard—loud and proud. “It’s extremely inclusive,” Webb continues, saying that “Our show is a company of queer folk. It’s a company of people of different ethnicities, different body types, and neurodivergencies. So everyone is represented on stage.”
This inclusivity present in the musical gives Webb strength in her own role as well. Juliet has taught many lessons to the actress, the biggest being, in her own words, “I really don’t have to worry about what people think about me.”
The confidence that exudes from not only Juliet, but the entire company and crew is palpable, resonating with the audience as well. That is in due part to the strength in itself that the production has, blending the new with the old. There are lessons from the past being seen in a current lens. So come see & Juliet at The Ahmonson Theatre, and soon The Segerstrom Center for the Arts, to witness this spin on a tale as old as time.