meteordust (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
meteordust) wrote2023-07-27 11:30 pm
meteordust) wrote2023-07-27 11:30 pm
Entry tags:
& Juliet
On the one hand, I'm not usually into jukebox musicals - I prefer songs that are original and new. But on the other hand, when the songs are all No 1 hits of the last three decades - well, that sounds pretty irresistible.
"What if Juliet had lived?" is also pretty irresistible.
Just the trailer hooked me enough, that I went down to Melbourne to see & Juliet, at the Regent Theatre. I wish it would have come to Sydney, but apparently there's a shortage of theatre venues that aren't already booked. So when it finishes its current run, instead of touring the other cities, it'll be heading overseas.
I'm glad I saw it! It looked like a good time, and it was indeed a good time. It was cheesy and earnest and incredibly fun.
So the framing story of the musical is, William Shakespeare has just finished writing his new play Romeo and Juliet. He excitedly describes the plot, culminating in the "rocks fall, everyone dies" ending. His wife Anne Hathaway, and the rest of the cast and crew, are less than enthused. "What if," she says, "Juliet didn't die? I mean, really, that should almost be the start of the play."
Their debate turns into a Backstreet Boys song, and it is genius.
Will: Tell me why
Anne: Ain't nothing but a heartache
Will: Tell me why
Anne: Ain't nothing but a mistake
Will: Tell me why
Anne: I never want to hear you say
Will: I want it that way
Anne starts rewriting the story by sending Juliet off on an adventure to discover herself, with her nurse Angélique as companion, and a new best friend May who is nonbinary. Anne also writes both herself and Will into the story as original characters, as they try to keep the narrative going, sometimes in different directions. Halfway through, after Juliet has become entangled in a fake engagement scheme with a shy young man called François, who actually likes May instead, but whose father Lance is pressuring him to marry or join the army, Will decides to throw a spanner in the works by resurrecting Romeo too, who comes chasing after his wife, and it is brilliant.
It's like a Shakespearean comedy, with identity games, crossed wires, and other shenanigans - and a happy, or at least extremely hopeful, ending.
There are lots of delightful moments of playing with the text. Like when they get carded at a bar, and Juliet pipes up that she's 14, and Anne says, "Nah, I'm not going clubbing with a 14 year old, let's say we're all in our 20s." And just casually rewrites their ages, including her own.
I love the clever reframing of certain songs, like the new perspective to "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" when May sings it to Juliet, and "I Kissed a Girl" when François and May sing to each other after their first kiss.
I love how some songs become duets, where singing alternate lines to each other turns it into dialogue.
And the unexpected heart of the story: Will and Anne working through their own personal struggles in their relationship. Him in London with his plays, her in Stratford-upon-Avon with their family, and the unresolved conflicts and painful feelings from that. (And the absolutely wonderful, and terribly cheesy, reprise of "I want it that way" becoming "I want Anne Hathaway".)
Just great moments, like Anne pointing out there are no happy marriages in Will's plays, and his reply that there is one in his upcoming work - Macbeth.
And all the now classic proverbs and phrases that crop up in conversation, that Will tells the audience, "I wrote that. That was me."
Let me talk about the songs! Max Martin is the songwriter/producer whose back catalogue is the backbone of this musical, where pretty much every song is a hit single. Some personal highlights:
- "It's My Life" - What else but this as the showstopper Act 1 climax, for Romeo returning from the dead? One of my favourite ever songs, and it was awesome.
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" - Ahhhhhh!!! A classic that makes you want to get up and dance. This song is performed by François's family band, which is basically an excuse for a terrible pun ("De Bois Band").
- "Baby One More Time" - This song has no business being as catchy as it is. Juliet mourns Romeo at the start of the story, and it is passionate and heartfelt.
- "Blow" - Juliet and friends in the club, rocking out and literally swinging from the chandeliers.
- "Whataya Want From Me" - May and François share an emotional duet, trying to figure out where they stand with each other.
A fantastic cast, of faces old and new. Will was played by Rob Mills (who I've seen as Fiyero in Wicked and Warner in Legally Blonde), Anne was played by Amy Lehpamer (who I've seen as Maria in The Sound of Music), and Angélique was played by Casey Donovan (music legend). Juliet was played by Lorinda May Merrypor (new to me, but excellent in the role). Romeo was played by Blake Appelqvist (who I've seen as Harry in Fangirls and Demetrius in The Lovers). May was played by Jesse Dutlow (who I've seen as Saltypringl in Fangirls). Lance was played by Hayden Tee (new to me, but a veteran of the stage) and François was played by Yashith Fernando (in his first professional musical theatre role). It's exciting to see the next generation come up, and to know that Australian musical theatre is in good hands.
I have to say, & Juliet also changed how I see Romeo and Juliet. Their love for each other made them brave enough to defy their families and their society. It's a story about choosing who you are and who you love, even when the whole world is trying to grind you down.
The play showed the tragic consequences. This musical gives them a second chance.
This is the original West End trailer that made me fall in love with it:
This is the Australian trailer with the awesome local cast:
"What if Juliet had lived?" is also pretty irresistible.
Just the trailer hooked me enough, that I went down to Melbourne to see & Juliet, at the Regent Theatre. I wish it would have come to Sydney, but apparently there's a shortage of theatre venues that aren't already booked. So when it finishes its current run, instead of touring the other cities, it'll be heading overseas.
I'm glad I saw it! It looked like a good time, and it was indeed a good time. It was cheesy and earnest and incredibly fun.
So the framing story of the musical is, William Shakespeare has just finished writing his new play Romeo and Juliet. He excitedly describes the plot, culminating in the "rocks fall, everyone dies" ending. His wife Anne Hathaway, and the rest of the cast and crew, are less than enthused. "What if," she says, "Juliet didn't die? I mean, really, that should almost be the start of the play."
Their debate turns into a Backstreet Boys song, and it is genius.
Will: Tell me why
Anne: Ain't nothing but a heartache
Will: Tell me why
Anne: Ain't nothing but a mistake
Will: Tell me why
Anne: I never want to hear you say
Will: I want it that way
Anne starts rewriting the story by sending Juliet off on an adventure to discover herself, with her nurse Angélique as companion, and a new best friend May who is nonbinary. Anne also writes both herself and Will into the story as original characters, as they try to keep the narrative going, sometimes in different directions. Halfway through, after Juliet has become entangled in a fake engagement scheme with a shy young man called François, who actually likes May instead, but whose father Lance is pressuring him to marry or join the army, Will decides to throw a spanner in the works by resurrecting Romeo too, who comes chasing after his wife, and it is brilliant.
It's like a Shakespearean comedy, with identity games, crossed wires, and other shenanigans - and a happy, or at least extremely hopeful, ending.
There are lots of delightful moments of playing with the text. Like when they get carded at a bar, and Juliet pipes up that she's 14, and Anne says, "Nah, I'm not going clubbing with a 14 year old, let's say we're all in our 20s." And just casually rewrites their ages, including her own.
I love the clever reframing of certain songs, like the new perspective to "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" when May sings it to Juliet, and "I Kissed a Girl" when François and May sing to each other after their first kiss.
I love how some songs become duets, where singing alternate lines to each other turns it into dialogue.
And the unexpected heart of the story: Will and Anne working through their own personal struggles in their relationship. Him in London with his plays, her in Stratford-upon-Avon with their family, and the unresolved conflicts and painful feelings from that. (And the absolutely wonderful, and terribly cheesy, reprise of "I want it that way" becoming "I want Anne Hathaway".)
Just great moments, like Anne pointing out there are no happy marriages in Will's plays, and his reply that there is one in his upcoming work - Macbeth.
And all the now classic proverbs and phrases that crop up in conversation, that Will tells the audience, "I wrote that. That was me."
Let me talk about the songs! Max Martin is the songwriter/producer whose back catalogue is the backbone of this musical, where pretty much every song is a hit single. Some personal highlights:
- "It's My Life" - What else but this as the showstopper Act 1 climax, for Romeo returning from the dead? One of my favourite ever songs, and it was awesome.
- "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" - Ahhhhhh!!! A classic that makes you want to get up and dance. This song is performed by François's family band, which is basically an excuse for a terrible pun ("De Bois Band").
- "Baby One More Time" - This song has no business being as catchy as it is. Juliet mourns Romeo at the start of the story, and it is passionate and heartfelt.
- "Blow" - Juliet and friends in the club, rocking out and literally swinging from the chandeliers.
- "Whataya Want From Me" - May and François share an emotional duet, trying to figure out where they stand with each other.
A fantastic cast, of faces old and new. Will was played by Rob Mills (who I've seen as Fiyero in Wicked and Warner in Legally Blonde), Anne was played by Amy Lehpamer (who I've seen as Maria in The Sound of Music), and Angélique was played by Casey Donovan (music legend). Juliet was played by Lorinda May Merrypor (new to me, but excellent in the role). Romeo was played by Blake Appelqvist (who I've seen as Harry in Fangirls and Demetrius in The Lovers). May was played by Jesse Dutlow (who I've seen as Saltypringl in Fangirls). Lance was played by Hayden Tee (new to me, but a veteran of the stage) and François was played by Yashith Fernando (in his first professional musical theatre role). It's exciting to see the next generation come up, and to know that Australian musical theatre is in good hands.
I have to say, & Juliet also changed how I see Romeo and Juliet. Their love for each other made them brave enough to defy their families and their society. It's a story about choosing who you are and who you love, even when the whole world is trying to grind you down.
The play showed the tragic consequences. This musical gives them a second chance.
This is the original West End trailer that made me fall in love with it:
This is the Australian trailer with the awesome local cast: