Max Martin’s greatest hits make for a fun outing in this Romeo & Juliet spinoff.

The power of a jukebox musical lies in the joy of recognising your favourite songs, and how they’re reinterpreted and strung together to form a coherent story. Often, the most successful ones end up as feel-good affairs that you can’t help but find yourself clapping along and smiling as you watch them. And that’s exactly the kind of musical that & Juliet is.

Presented by the Michael Cassel Group (in association with MTM/Leyline) and BASE Entertainment Asia, West End smash hit & Juliet finally comes to Singapore’s Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands, and is a delight from start to finish. Directed by Luke Sheppard, with a book by David West Read, & Juliet‘s claim to fame is being a jukebox musical featuring some of the greatest hits of music producer Max Martin, known for working with pop sensations from Britney Spears to Ariana Grande, Katy Perry to the Backstreet Boys.

However, almost none of these songs are arranged as you remember them, and have all been recontextualised to fit & Juliet‘s storyline. Set in Renaissance era London, & Juliet takes place on the night of the premiere of one of William Shakespeare’s greatest plays – Romeo & Juliet. But when his wife Anne Hathaway comes down from Stratford-upon-Avon to pay him a surprise visit, she decides to suggest some changes to the rather morbid ending, leading us to witness the birth of a new version of the play, one where Juliet decides not to kill herself after seeing the death of Romeo.

What this results in is a journey of self-discovery and coming-of-age, as against the will of her controlling parents, Juliet escapes to Paris with her best friends to seek a new life, leaving her traumatic past behind. Enter a wild party, whirlwind romances, unexpected self-inserts and plot twists, and Juliet has one heck of an adventure, all while on a mission to find out who she truly is and find independence, no longer defined by her lovers or her family name.

Because of the nature of Max Martin’s songs, much of & Juliet looks and feels like a pop concert, specifically, a tribute and celebration of the early 2000s. For anyone who grew up with any of these artists on their playlists (or CD players), & Juliet hits like a nostalgia-laden truck, with familiar lyrics you’ll be itching to sing along to, and melodies you’ll want to get up and dance to. More importantly, by setting them within the context of & Juliet, lyrics take on new meaning and significance, elevating them by turning them into call and response duets, or reassigning female numbers to men to showcase greater vulnerability.

Take for example, how one of the earliest Act 1 numbers has Juliet covering Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time”, becoming a soulful ballad that shows how much she aches for her deceased Romeo. As Juliet, Lorinda May Merrypor already impresses from the get-go, with a powerful voice that can belt notes and infuse songs with real emotion. This is most prominently seen in the musical’s version of ‘Problem’, originally by Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea, going from painful break-up anthem to empowering moment of realisation as she bursts into dance, her energy on full display.

But as much as the musical is about Juliet, there is plenty of room for the other cast members to shine too, all of whom are integral to making the musical the success it is, diverse and all incredibly talented. Yashith Fernando, as Juliet’s French lover Francois ‘Frankie’ du Bois, carries a shyness to him, bringing the character on a journey towards self-realisation and confidence through numbers like Demi Lovato’s ‘Confident’.

Opposite him, there’s Jesse Dutlow as Juliet’s best friend and non-binary character May, who brings on the sexual tension in numbers like Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed A Girl’ and frustration in Adam Lambert’s ‘Whataya Want From Me?’, both turned into duets representing sexual discovery and confusion respectively. Dutlow however, truly shines in their solo number “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman”, capturing the struggle of being between genders, so passionate it brings a tear to audience members’ eyes.

Casey Donovan and Hayden Tee, as Juliet’s nurse and Francois’ father, make up the older members of the cast, but keep up with everyone else’s energy and show off brilliant accent work. Bringing on the comic relief as former lovers, odes to youth “Teenage Dream” and “Break Free” see them playfully romping about the bedroom, as if the power of music turns back time. Blake Appelqvist is perhaps one of the biggest surprises of all, playing a douchey, playboy version of Romeo who croons songs like Ellie Goulding’s Love Me Like You Do’, while also capable of delivering rock numbers like Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’, transforming their voice completely and impressing us in every featured number with their vocal quality.

Then there’s Rob Mills as a young, strapping Shakespeare and Amy Lehpamer as his whipsmart wife Anne, bringing the musical its emotional core. Inspired by what little we know of their lives, writer David West Read effectively integrates them into the story, not only making it a metaphor for their fading love life, but also using this framing device to make the play a self-aware one, with cheeky breakage of the fourth wall and other clever allusions. The Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’ becomes Will and Anne’s theme song, initially met with some laughs from the audience due to its use in memes, but convincing us of their sincerity when it becomes a back and forth that sees them wresting for control over the story while attempting to rekindle their love. We see Anne’s pain from Lehpamer’s performance, and in her rendition of Celine Dion’s showstopping ‘That’s The Way It Is’, feel an emotional surge as she vows to fight on and believe, no matter how hard it gets.

In terms of its staging, & Juliet pulls out all the stops, feeling like an expensive production that commits entirely to its anachronistic setting. The Sands Theatre stage has been completely transformed by set designer Soutra Gilmour, looking as if it were built with rough wood with visible timber grain and graffiti, while creating entire carriages and signage, so spectacular you can’t look away from it. Costumes by Paloma Young are bright and colourful, finding an ideal halfway point between Renaissance costume and fashion, while Andrzej Goulding’s video and projection design integrates well into the main performance, showcasing close-ups of ink maps as the leads travel to France, or ambient scenery that complements each number.

Each musical number is also heightened by the fact that there is live music (led by music supervisor Bill Sherman), while Howard Hudson’s lighting ensures that more downbeat ballads are given the emotional atmosphere they need, before giving the full blast of dynamic, concert-lighting for big group numbers. Choreographer Jennifer Weber takes full advantage of the revolving stage that also rises up from the ground, with some of the biggest, high energy group numbers like ‘Blow’ and ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ fully utilising the space onstage afforded. All of this is also made possible thanks to the fantastic ensemble, who bring high energy and precision in their synchronised movements to stage, and in all, there is so much wonder and enjoyment derived from how big everything feels.

& Juliet is essentially pure bliss, one fun number after another. Even if you come in unsure, this is a musical that will turn those doubts into a smile, with initial giggles at how ridiculous some of these numbers are turned into genuine care and concern for these fictional characters onstage as you follow their journey. Growing up with these songs, you think back to your own moments of falling in love and heartbreak, just as they do, and it feels very much like reliving your youth all over again. Technicalities aside, each of these brilliant cast members give it their all onstage, with every number coming alive with the energy and emotion they pour into it, somehow relatable, as they tackle the fundamental human desire to find one’s self and identity against a society that tells you what to be.

Light on story and high on emotions, & Juliet is a jukebox musical with modern sensibilities that will appeal to all ages, a soundtrack you’ll want to put on repeat, and most of all, its reminder of how we are all entitled to our own destiny as we navigate the pains of growing up. There are no real ‘villains’ by the end of the musical, and every character is developed sufficiently to understand their motivations and nuances, and we find a bit of ourselves in every one. You may giggle and laugh at first, but before you know it, almost every one of these songs chosen will find new emotional significance for you, seared into your memory not only for how catchy they are or the concert-quality performance delivered by the cast, but their significance to & Juliet’s story, empowering these characters and granting them new strength or confidence to live life to the fullest.

By its end, as Juliet makes a choice for herself and stands her ground, she is finally at her most triumphant, the most realised version of herself in the show. Belting out Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’, we feel her courage to move on, her way, with all’s well that ends well. & Juliet is a musical that completely subverts Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, a spin-off and reimagining for a contemporary audience with modern values, and prioritises the power of choice, and gives us all the hope and bravery to dare to take life into our own hands, learning to love and put ourselves first, because we are more than the social constructs that others impose on us.

Photo Credit: Daniel Boud

& Juliet plays from 21st September to 15th October 2023 at the Sands Theatre. Tickets available here Enjoy a 20% discount when you purchase tickets here

Production Credits