Songs penned by Max Martin (think Britney, Kelly Clarkson, and more) get remixed with Shakespeare in this exuberant new musical. Writer David West Read explains how it all came together.
Before a individual note is sing at the unexampled Broadway musical & Juliet , audience members charge into the Stephen Sondheim Theatre will see a jukebox placed prominently on the microscope stage . Given the show ’s Shakespearian - ish title , that prop might be surprising — until you feel out about its top - notch pa play list .
Yes , & Julietis a jukebox musical , but not one in the biographical vein that follows an artist ’s life and life history soundtracked to their hits . ( See : The Cher Show , Beautiful : The Carole King Musical , Jersey Boys . ) alternatively , it feature the catalog of Max Martin , the Swedish hitmaker who ’s cooperate with everyone from the Backstreet Boys and * NSYNC to Britney Spears , Kelly Clarkson , Katy Perry , Céline Dion , Bon Jovi , and many more .
That pop line of descent explains why JC Chasez , Simon Cowell , and two Martins — Max and Coldplay frontman Chris — were among the guests at opening night a few weeks ago . That big entry was a night primed for a show stacked with pop firecracker . lead walk an electric pinkish carpet , billboards in Times Square lit up with the show ’s ticker - and - earpiece logo , and — study the show ’s transonic source material , this part isveryimportant — an afterparty at the Edison Rooftop where the DJ realise the assignment .
L-R: Ben Jackson-Walker, Lorna Courtney, Betsy Wolfe, Melanie La Barrie|Matthew Murphy
“ [ It ] was one of the most fun Broadway party I ’ve ever been to , ” & Juliet ’s writer , David West Read , told Thrillist the day after the fete . “ The euphony was swell , everyone was dancing , everyone stayed until they kicked us out . I imagine that at a sure point in time every one of the songs from the show was played , which is really fun . ”
While Martin ’s chart - toppers organise the birdcall list for the melodious — you’ll find most 30 of them list in the Playbill — the plot of ground remixes those track into a remix of its own : What if Juliet did n’t die at the end ofRomeo & Juliet ?
The mind to mash - up the works of Martin and William Shakespeare ( who also features as a character in the show ) stemmed from need a driving strength for the narrative that was n’t the songwriter himself , 51 , who has mainly stayed out of the spotlight despite the prospicient tilt of hits he ’s save or co - indite that have find Top 40 radio airwaves for decade . “ I make out that this music means so much to everyone who might be coming to the theater of operations , but it would be helpful if there was something else that they could identify with to get them in the door , ” explains Read , who was also a writer and manufacturer onSchitt ’s Creek . “ And just opine of how many of his songs were about young love and heartbreak , [ I wanted ] to do something really unexpected so that you would like a shot be hearing the songs in a different way . ”
L-R: Ben Jackson-Walker, Lorna Courtney, Betsy Wolfe, Melanie La Barrie|Matthew Murphy
It ’s a clever self-love that intend Juliet ( Lorna Courtney ) can lament that her loneliness is down her , “ … Baby One More Time ” style , when she wakes up to learn that her buff is drained — and afterward belts out anthems like “ Since U Been go ” and “ Roar ” as she start off on a journey of post - Romeo ego - discovery . Her young narration come good manners of Shakespeare ’s wife , Anne Hathaway ( Betsy Wolfe ) , who implore her husband ( Stark Sands ) to changeRomeo & Juliet ’s bummer ending before grabbing a quill and demanding they partner up on the rescript . To make thing even more meta , they also write themselves into the story .
“ The more I got into researching Shakespeare and the more I got to know Max , I pick out pleasure in receive these similarities in terms of , ‘ How could one human being be behind so much popular fine art ? ’ ” Read continues . “ And I say pop art because when I studied Shakespeare , I thought of it as very highbrow . But in his prison term , Shakespeare was making it for the plenty and everyone was live on to his plays . So it matte up weirdly constituent to weave Shakespeare and Max together . ”
Read began the process of develop the show back in 2016 , plunge himself in a play list he made with more than 200 songs and narrowing in on which one had the “ in effect narrative effort . ” The specific , often excited connections mass have to many of these songs are something he had to consider as well . “ I never want it to seem like we were making fun of the music , because even the stuff and nonsense from the ‘ 90s , hoi polloi listen to it today in an unironic style . You do n’t listen to it to express joy at it , or to express joy at when you liked it , ” Read notes .
Lorna Courtney and the Cast of & juliet|Matthew Murphy
That meant sometimes leaning into how you might expect to hear a breakup ballad or a party track — the opening issue ascertain Shakespeare being hailed as “ large Than Life ” by an adoring world — but other times subverting it . “ In order of magnitude for a pop song to really wriggle its agency into your brain , there ’s a lot of musical repeating but also lyric repeat , ” he add together . “ And so with each verse and each repetition of the chorus , trying to find a way [ to keep ] the narration move and something newfangled being allege . ” For example , & Juliettransforms the BSB attain “ I Want It That Way ” into an contestation between William and Anne , while Perry ’s “ Teenage Dream ” becomes a duet about lost dearest let the cat out of the bag by Juliet ’s nurse , Angelique ( Melanie La Barrie ) , and an former flame , Lance ( Paulo Szot ) . In another moment reflective of this advanced retelling , Juliet ’s in effect friend May ( Justin David Sullivan ) babble out about their gender identity via Spears ’ “ I ’m Not a young lady , Not Yet a Woman . ”
It all hail together in an uplifting show that cast a fresh spin on a story everyone recall they bonk , with songs they ca n’t get out of their head . Shakespeare aficionados will apprise the interweaving of Bard hallmarks — ingenious pun , dear triangle , surprise returns — which feel the right way at rest home in a narrative about wanting to take dominance of your own narration .
“ There ’s the story within the story , which is the ingeminate ofRomeo & Julietwith the new finish , ” says Read . “ But then there ’s this large narrative about balancing life and relationship and how do you navigate love when you ’re also seek dear from the humanity . ”
With & Julietnow running both in London ’s West End and on Broadway ( with an Australian production to add up next yr ) , audiences all over the world are produce to relish the melodic ’s pop pleasure , including the player whose song are featured . Case in point : A sure boy striation that of late saw the show . “ The Backstreet Boys finally just fail in London ; they were on tour and they called Max [ Martin ] after , ” Read shares . “ And AJ [ McLean ] was like , ‘ I could never babble these song again without mentation of them in a new way . ’ ”
The answer from artist , and audiences , have think a lot to Read . “ It ’s hard to articulate , but a lot of multitude have reached out and said , ‘ I ’ve been through a rough time in the last year , the last few years , the last week—[and ] I call for to see the show this calendar week , ’ ” he add together . “ The best matter I could hope for is that people leave the theater happy than when they start in and that they feel like they have a little burst of joy land into their life . ”
