Ensemble Arts Philly and the Shubert Organization present the national tour of & Juliet

Conceived by the playwright and television producer David West Read (Schitt’s Creek), the musical language of & Juliet draws heavily from the catalogue of songwriter Max Martin. The hits he crafted for the likes of Britney, Kelly, and Katy seamlessly fall into place as the story of Juliet’s altered narrative unfolds. The show casts its source material in an unapologetically contemporary light, one that feels genuine and endearing rather than hamstrung by its messages. This is easily one of the most enjoyable and important Broadway exports that Philadelphia has seen in years.

Charming, inventive love stories

Read’s libretto challenges the genius myth that surrounds its charismatic central figure. We meet Shakespeare (Corey Mach) on the night Romeo and Juliet is due to premiere. The festivities are interrupted by his wife Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks), who objects to the barely hidden misogyny of a play where a fourteen-year-old “bride” ends her life in anguish over her true love’s death. She grabs his quill and reclaims the narrative.

The resulting musical explores falling in and out of love in charmingly inventive ways. Juliet (Rachel Simone Webb) leaves her native Verona for Paris, although she finds she cannot entirely shake her affection for Romeo (understudy Josh Jordan at the reviewed performance). She quickly becomes engaged to François (Mateus Leite Cardoso), a naive nobleman’s son—but he falls for May (Nick Drake), Juliet’s nonbinary best friend. Juliet’s nurse, here called Angélique (Kathryn Allison), rekindles a long-flickering romance with Lance (Paul-Jordan Jansen), François’s strutting father.

Operetta roots, modern depth

In a way, the plot structure harkens back to operetta and early musical comedy, with a romantic leading couple surrounded by more comedic doppelgängers. But Read and Martin, who was involved in the production’s development, find ways of contemporizing some very familiar tropes. Juliet’s conflicted emotions toward Romeo—anger at his betrayal coupled with lingering affection—seem genuine and relatable.

Angélique and Lance demonstrate how maturity and time can cement a relationship built on mutual respect. The path to self-discovery embodied by François and May’s romance feels more necessary and immediate than when the show debuted in America three years ago, particularly as it treats shifting perceptions of gender and sexuality with tenderness and respect.

Drawing from history, the musical presents the complex relationship between Shakespeare and Anne in all its messy dimensions. It neither whitewashes his negative characteristics nor turns her into an unimpeachable hero—they are presented both as people, flawed and learning what it means to sustain a marriage. The performances of Mach and Wicks follow the same track, with surprising depth.

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Under Luke Sheppard’s direction, the entire cast is superb—though none more so than Webb, whose powerhouse voice and commanding presence electrify familiar tunes like “Baby One More Time”, “Since U Been Gone”, and “Roar”. And kudos to her for remaining cool as a cucumber on opening night, when a technical malfunction briefly stopped the show smack in the middle of an intimate duet with Jordan’s swaggeringly silly Romeo.

The large ensemble brings a vibrant energy to the proceedings, especially when executing Jennifer Weber’s high-spirited choreography. The production has enough vigor and sparkle to fill the somewhat cavernous Academy, with its cotton-candy-colored sets (by Soutra Gilmour) and eye-catching costumes (by Paloma Young). Despite the pop score, the sound design (by Gareth Owen) is refreshingly restrained, allowing the soaring voices of the cast to do the heavy lifting.

As I spilled onto Broad Street after the performance, I wanted to stop the first 10 people I saw and implore them to buy tickets. I didn’t climb that soapbox, but I do have this platform, so I’m telling you now. The music and the message of & Juliet are not to be missed.