Come on, Mr. Shakespeare. Did Juliet actually have to die in that tragic play of yours?
A new musical that envisions a not-quite-so-star-crossed situation for considered one of drama’s most well-known younger lovers is coming to Broadway.
“& Juliet” — the title a play on “Romeo and Juliet” — options pop songs by the Swedish hitmaker Max Martin, greatest identified for his collaborations with Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry.
The musical started its life in Manchester, England, in 2019, after which transferred to London, where reviews had been mixed however audiences enthused, and it’s nonetheless going robust. A North American manufacturing is now working in Toronto, and can switch to Broadway, the place it’s scheduled to begin previews Oct. 28 and open Nov. 17 on the Stephen Sondheim Theater.
The rating consists of pop songs, a lot of them fairly well-known, together with “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “ … Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life,” “That’s the Way It Is” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
The present’s comedic e-book, that includes quite a lot of romantic entanglements, is by David West Read (“Schitt’s Creek”); the director is Luke Sheppard. Martin, as well as to writing the songs, leads the manufacturing crew, which additionally consists of Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Jenny Petersson (Martin’s spouse), Martin Dodd and Eva Price.
The forged will function Lorna Courtney as Juliet; Stark Sands (a two-time Tony nominee, for “Journey’s End” and “Kinky Boots”) will play Shakespeare; Betsy Wolfe will play his spouse, Anne Hathaway; and Paulo Szot (a Tony winner for “South Pacific”) will play a personality named Lance.
