& Juliet

“Jukebox musicals may still be bottom feeders, but, as '& Juliet' proves, there are sometimes small treasures to be found in the murk.”

“What the show lacks in plotting, it more than makes up for musically. It is a jukebox, but it’s a smart one, using the songs in deft, humorous and unexpected ways.”

“Its title notwithstanding, '& Juliet' barely takes time to define its heroine; it puts her at the center of the story and then makes her its least interesting character.”

“The real stars here are the songs, all from the catalogue of Max Martin and his collaborators...At its best, the show just does away with logic and gives you full-throated renditions of Martin’s more insistent anthems.”

“Don’t get me wrong: I always crave the deeper communion with a musical that tells a story with songs made new. Like Juliet, though, I’m happy to bop to a well-produced, familiar beat.”

“It’s not that '& Juliet' is unenjoyable – it isn’t. Somewhere beneath the bombast and repetition and overwrought-from-minute-one approach is a sweet(ish) and smart(ish) tale that gives voice to the marginalized.”

“There's something a little relentless about '& Juliet's' dogged eagerness to entertain, but nakedly joyful too: a violent delight, flipped for the TikTok era.”

““ '& Juliet' is a millennial-seeking missile aimed at audience members, such as myself, who grew up on Martin’s catchy tunes.”

“'& Juliet' is quite the most excruciating experience I’ve had on Broadway in decades.”

“& Juliet," the latest jukebox musical, is a delightful and witty reimagining of Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" told from a revisionist and feminist point of view. The show is wrapped around the song catalog of Max Martin, the Swedish songwriter and record producer who may just be the third most successful practitioner of all time with 25 Hot 100 number-one song hits since 1998, just behind Paul McCartney and John Lennon. These were written with or for such singers as Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Pink, Ellie Goulding, Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake.”

“A clear example of an audience show -- if you're the right audience -- & Juliet is more of a teenage dream than an adult entertainment. This cheeky musical squib on Shakespearean tragedy is the theatrical equivalent of YA fiction, dressing up its message of female and queer self-assertion with plenty of wisecracks and a playlist of Max Martin chartbusters. Is this progressive, family-friendly fun package likely to be a smash hit? Yea, verily. Is it a hit-or-miss proposition, its fleeting pleasures sometimes trampled under a hit parade of bombastic pop tunes? Only a varlet would say so.”

“The music is loud and the costumes are colorful. The characters are fun and entertaining...The staging is eye-popping with lots of gimmicks and confetti...'& Juliet' has the audience dancing in their seats and 'all’s well that ends well'.””

“'& Juliet' is a very dumb show in many respects, but immensely satisfying and just a ton of fun. Don’t bother trying to resist—you will have a blast.”

“What '& Juliet' lacks in foundation, it more than makes up for in sheer fun. The placements of certain songs are jokes in themselves.”

“Laughter filled the theater in all of its joyful, healing wonder. It was a beautiful thing.”

“The glam, glossy, and tongue-in-cheek new jukebox musical '& Juliet' proposes an intriguing solution to the dilemma faced every year by high school English teachers who struggle over how to get their students interested in Shakespeare.”

“It's not hard to guess who will emerge victorious. But in the world of Shakespeare, a surprise ending was never in the cards.”

“The action unfolds in Shakespeare’s era, but its heart and head are all about today...As in any jukebox musical, some tunes are wedged in, but others fit surprisingly well...Theatregoers out for a silly good time likely won’t care as they hum along with '& Juliet'.”

“The show’s terrific music numbers, fueled by high-powered vocals, give it a propulsive energy that’s impossible to resist.”

“If we have a quibble or two, it might be that the show is a few minutes too long...'& Juliet' succeeds where many jukebox musicals don’t: It shoehorns the songs into the script practically seamlessly.”

“'& Juliet' is less about the narrative contrivances than it is about the singing and dancing and every bit of staging that director Luke Sheppard has been able to muster.”

“The Bard takes a back seat to the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears in “& Juliet,” a jukebox musical that is being billed as a sequel to Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,”. The plot winds up more busy and berserk than that description, and, in any case, the show is primarily a vehicle for the hits of Max Martin…sung by a cast with glorious pop voices and fine comic chops.”

“If we have a quibble or two, it might be that the show is a few minutes too long...'& Juliet' succeeds where many jukebox musicals don’t: It shoehorns the songs into the script practically seamlessly.”

“& Juliet is a visual and musical fest whose technical expertise deserves appreciation, even if you sometimes find it banal, monotonous, and unfunny. The cast is extremely adept at making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (no, Shakespeare didn’t say that), with Queens girl Lorna Courtney (West Side Story)giving a star-making performance as Juliet. An exceptional dancer and awesome singer, she has enough energy to light up the Sondheim even if the lights go out.”