Review: & Juliet – Edinburgh Playhouse

I wandered into & Juliet a sceptic and emerged a believer. You’ll find few more ardent bardolators, so I anticipated irritation with a Jukebox musical determined to rewrite ‘The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’. Reader, & Juliet is just fabulous.

Schitt’s Creek writing-room alumnus David West Read’s book is risky in many ways. Presenting the audience with a very modern Shakespeare (Michael Nelson covering for Matt Cardle), and an MTV Music video-worthy company of players could easily collapse proceedings into a pit of gimmickry. It avoids this completely by taking the bard seriously and keeping him central to the story.

Tonight William’s new play ‘Romeo and Juliet’ will open, and he’s just written the ending: the one where they both die. His loving wife Anne Hathaway (Lara Denning), conjured from scant historical records, is reimagined as a lively ‘Housewife of Stratford’ on a rare night out whilst the kids are with a babysitter. ‘What if’ she suggests, ‘Juliet doesn’t die?’

The Shakespeares’ troubled romance and philosophical differences become the show’s beating heart, and it beats hard thanks to the hits written or co-written over the decades by pop-guru Max Martin.

So whilst Will and Anne conspire to rewrite Juliet’s fate, and stage a new play, proceedings regularly erupt into iconic bangers from The Backstreet Boys’ ‘Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely’ to Britney Spears’ ‘”Oops!…I Did It Again”, delivered with oodles of energy and panache by a superbly talented cast.

“Reader, & Juliet is just fabulous.”

Though handled with love, there’s no slavish devotion to either lyrics or arrangement. Martin, with Tony-Award Winning Hamilton alumnus Bill Sherman, shapes them to the show’s needs, whilst lavishing them with glorious arrangements and orchestration. Bravo indeed to the compact, powerful band under Marcus Carter-Adams, and all involved in the show’s crystal-clear sound design and balance.

The eruption of involuntary sounds of joy throughout the immense Edinburgh Playhouse when certain songs strike up is like nothing I’ve experienced in any other production. With Jennifer Weber’s big, sharp choreography consistently making full use of Soutra Gilmour’s joyfully glam set, & Juliet isn’t so much ‘event theatre’ as ‘events-plural theatre’.

Revelling at the eye of this storm is Gerardine Sacdalan, recent Urdang Academy graduate, and a sassy, empowered Juliet ready to ‘Roar’ when Katy Perry’s monstrous hit strikes up. Jack Danson also makes a winning mark as Romeo, despite the show opening on his death.

Click to enlarge and for details.

You might think that with 29 songs packed in, there wouldn’t be much time for drama, but you’d be wrong. The monstrous chart hits are used to drive the story as well as please the crowd – Martin-penned hits which didn’t serve the plot haven’t made the final draft. Actors who can sing and dance, but not act, didn’t make the cut either.

West Read keeps the show grounded in its characters and their choices. With Anne wielding Shakespeare’s quill, the revived Juliet, along with nurse Angelique (Sandra Marvin) and genderqueer bestie May (a charming Jordan Broatch) trade Verona for Paris. All signs point to a happy ending with a new beau before Shakespeare takes back control and injects conflict and tension with a most splendid catastrophe – much to Anne’s dismay.

The dialogue is sparkling throughout, witty, sometimes ridiculous, but always heartfelt. The show is genuinely funny throughout, as in laugh-out-loud hilarious at times. In the assured hands of Director Luke Sheppard, & Juliet is a smart, considered drama, but never above tremendous silliness.

Talking of which brings us to singing TV doctor Ranj Singh, making his stage debut complete with a ridiculous French accent. Not to encourage ‘celebrity’ castings, I have to say he fits right in, and can certainly carry a tune. His scenes with the soulfully voiced and twinkling-eyed Marvin are a particular delight.

” In the assured hands of Director Luke Sheppard, & Juliet is a smart, considered drama, but never above tremendous silliness.”

At the heart of proceedings, Sacdalan’s Juliet continually impresses, but the show relies equally heavily upon Nelson and Denning’s performances as her conflicted creators. The former is tremendous, all charm and towering pride, hard to dislike but utterly infuriating; the latter shines. Anne’s character could slide into caricature, but Denning conjures a loveable, vulnerable enthusiast who’s very easy to care for. Expect a good portion of the house to take to their feet when she closes out an utterly sensational rendition of Celine Dion’s ‘That’s the Way It Is.’

Click to enlarge and for details.

As we approach the end of this review, you will have noticed I’ve said rather little about the plot, and that’s deliberate. You deserve to discover the joys of this show as uninformed as I was (or nearly). Suffice it to say the plotting reaches that wonderful place in which events are unforeseen and yet completely predictable. The ending, when it sadly arrives, is just right. The music of & Juliet is sensational, but so is the story.

Ultimately, however, & Juliet is a Jukebox musical, but unlike the vast majority, it’s a scintillating piece of musical theatre. It’s a big, bold, and beautiful production, which delivers the goods time and time again. I went in expecting to dislike it, and will now count the days till I can see it again.

Featured Image: Gerardine Sacdalan – credit Matt Crockett