She's stronger than yesterday! After running to acclaim in London's West End for three years, the pop musical & Juliet is now on Broadway with nine Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. Get & Juliet tickets now.
& Juliet on Broadway takes modern pop songs from the catalog of Max Martin and sets them to an original story about what might happen if Juliet did not die at the end of Romeo & Juliet. Before you go, discover more about what to expect from this energetic, larger-than-life pop extravaganza.
What is & Juliet about?
The & Juliet musical kicks off nearly where Romeo & Juliet left off: right before Juliet's death. This isn't a retelling of Shakespeare's tragedy, though; it's a whole new story in which Juliet decides losing Romeo doesn't mean she should die. Instead, she goes on a journey of self-discovery to Paris. Accompanied by her friends — which include some characters from the original play, like the nurse, as well as new characters, like her friends Francois and May — she goes to parties, makes new friends, falls in love (again), and sees what the world has to offer beyond the stifling walls of Verona.
The whole story is narrated by Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, who are actually writing the story as they go along. Anne learns of Shakespeare's original Romeo & Juliet ending and dislikes it, so she takes over. With Anne at the helm, Juliet gets more agency and depth independent of her relationship with Romeo, and a more positive lease on life. Anne even writes herself and Shakespeare in as characters, and debating their different ideas for the story ends up helping them work out the issues in their marriage.
The & Juliet Broadway musical is full of energy and laughs, as the & Juliet book is by David West Read, a writer on the Emmy Award-winning Schitt's Creek.
What songs are in & Juliet?
You may listen to top 40 radio, but you've never heard your favorite songs like this. & Juliet has one new song, but the show mostly includes existing popular music. All 30 pop songs in & Juliet were written or co-written by Max Martin, who's behind the hits of stars like Britney Spears, P!nk, Kesha, Katy Perry, and The Backstreet Boys. Anyone who grew up with, or just knows all the words to, hits from the 90s through today will relive their teenage dreams at this show. Below is a sampling of the shows in & Juliet; discover more about all the show's songs here.
- "Larger than Life"
- "I Want It That Way"
- "...Baby One More Time"
- "Blow"
- "Teenage Dream"
- "It's My Life"
- "Since U Been Gone"
- "That's the Way It Is"
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"
- "Roar"
More information about & Juliet
& Juliet had its world premiere in 2019 in London's West End. The show received nine Olivier Award nominations and critical acclaim.
London Theatre review reads, "Frequently resembling a series of pop videos come to life — thanks to performance platforms that come out of the floor, or benches that take on an aerial life of their own in Soutra Gilmour's sets, aided by Andrzej Goulding's dazzling projections — it is performed with a glinting knowingness and powerful pop theatre voices."
Since debuting in London, & Juliet made its North American debut in Toronto; that production was the pre-Broadway tryout ahead of the premiere of & Juliet on Broadway. The musical is also made its Australian premiere in Melbourne in February 2023.
As long as you love pop music, contemporized classics, and plenty of fun, it's gonna be you that sees & Juliet in New York soon. Tickets to & Juliet on Broadway are available now.
See & Juliet if you like: Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Six, MJ The Musical
Photo credit: The company of & Juliet in Toronto. (Photo by Matthew Murphy)
