The theatre of pop music is brought to stunning life in ‘& Juliet’ which is, in its essence, a celebration and showcase of the work of Max Martin and friends.
It’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ for the modern era. ‘& Juliet’ asks the question “what if Juliet never died?”. The answer? A rollicking, hilarious, intelligent jukebox musical which doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still manages to be a thoroughly entertaining night at the theatre.
With a book by David West Read, ‘& Juliet’ is a hell of a good time. The plot is grounded in stunning female empowerment, proposing the idea that maybe Juliet wakes up at the end of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ and proceeds to live her best life sans Romeo. A story starring a woman taking back her power only makes sense in the context of a pop jukebox musical – the pop music industry is arguably held up and run by women and their incredible contributions to the zeitgeist are on full display here: Celine Dion, P!nk, Kesha, Jessie J, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson. . . The list goes on.
In the Tik Tok era, nothing is safe, not even the beloved jukebox musical. Recent trends tearing the genre apart have highlighted and mocked a tendency for these shows to feel jarring and, at times, a little cringey. ‘& Juliet’ is in on the joke though, and no musical moment – even the ones which feel tender and emotional – is forced or out of place. The more comically-included tracks (‘I Want It That Way’, ‘Oops! I Did It Again’ to name a few) know how funny they are in context here, and the audience gets to laugh with them.
The story seems to have been written around the songs, and with the songs’ entire lyrical content in mind (seriously. . . no lyrics are changed – it’s almost bizarre how well most of the tracks move the story forward and provide more context!).
Image © Daniel Boud
Lorinda May Merrypor commands the stage as Juliet, with a ‘Larger Than Life’ voice and magnetic stage presence. She is totally loveable and filled with that perfect sense of someone you are truly rooting for. Amy Lehpamer as Anne Hathaway is just as commanding, not to mention effortlessly hilarious. Her quarrels with Shakespeare are dynamic and her comic timing and expressions a perfect match for this character.
The ever transformative Rob Mills slips into the role of Shakespeare like a glove, taking on his arrogance and stubbornness believably well. Vocal powerhouse Casey Donovan adds another notch in her theatrical belt as Angelique. Though her role here isn’t quite as soul-vibrating as in ‘9 To 5 The Musical’ or ‘We Will Rock You’, she takes it on and knocks it out of the park (one of my favourite moments here is her hysterical yet understated delivery of the lyric “dirt and glitter cover the floor” from Kesha’s ‘Blow’. . . Absolutely perfect). Casey is quickly becoming an Australian musical theatre icon and is always a complete and utter pleasure to watch.
Image © Daniel Boud
Jesse Dutlow as May and Yashith Fernando as Francois are nothing short of perfect – two spellbinding highlights are May’s ‘I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman’, and the pair’s duet of Adam Lambert’s ‘Whataya Want From Me’ – each song encapsulating elements of the queer experience and the journey one can endure to explore their gender identity.
Hayden Tee’s Lance strikes the perfect balance between strict father and giddy, lovestruck single man – while Blake Appelqvist’s Romeo is a total douche – in the best way possible. Major props to Blake for portraying this so well and pulling out all the stops to convey Romeo's deep douchebag-ery. . . And yet still finding a way to make audiences adore the character.
‘& Juliet’ is the gold standard for jukebox musicals – a cleverly written and lovingly crafted homage to the pop genre which expands and unpacks just how dramatic and theatrical it can be.
The show’s finale on opening night is met with rapturous applause and a standing ovation, before pop producer Max Martin himself takes to the stage with some wise words sure to echo around the Regent Theatre walls for the remainder of ‘& Juliet’’s run: “Melbourne, let’s f…ing party!”
