Photo courtesy of Evan Zimmerman

Music holds memories. Listening to certain songs can evoke specific moments in time. Lyrics that were written from a distinct point of view can take on multiple meanings. Songs sung a certain way can be reimagined to fit a new narrative. Jukebox musical & Juliet does just that; it takes songs that defined the pop genre and places them in a modern retelling of the classic Romeo and Juliet.

In a tug-of-war between two writers, & Juliet allows William Shakespeare and wife Anne Hathaway to rewrite the playwright’s most recognized tragedy to give its female character the chance to have a happy ending. Woven into the story are songs exclusively written by Max Martin, the legendary producer behind artists such as Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Celine Dion and many more.

From the teen pop wave to rock-infused pop and everything in between, the influence of Max Martin in the world of music is something to be studied. Prioritizing melodies brought forth hits including “...Baby One More Time”, “Since U Been Gone”, “One More Night” and “Blinding Lights”.

Rebuilding the story of Romeo and Juliet around Martin’s catalog seems like an impossible task, but its Broadway debut in 2022 proves otherwise. Performing to sold out crowds, breaking box office records and touring across America are just a few of the achievements of this unique production. Its latest tour stop at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre for a limited two-week engagement had an electrifying opening night on Wednesday; the multi-generational audience getting whisked away on Juliet’s journey to a second chance on life and love.

The cast ranged from Broadway veterans to national tour debuts, and every single performance ended with the cheers of an awestruck crowd. They took iconic pop anthems and gave them new meanings. Shakespeare showed reluctance towards Hathaway’s rewrites with “I Want It That Way”. Juliet’s closest friend May detailed their struggles as a non-binary person in a binary world with “I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman”. The father of Juliet’s love interest, Lance du Bois, apologized to his son, François, for trying to control his life with “Shape of My Heart”. Songs that have been sung the same way for decades changed significantly in a matter of minutes.

When the crowd wasn’t transfixed in a song, they were erupting in laughter. Main performers were delivering lines while background performers were delivering on-stage antics. One-liners so quick that if the audience was still laughing from the last joke it was almost missed. A lesson in how many modern English phrases were coined by Shakespeare. A singular French accent called out in the second act. Mid-scene pauses to question Juliet’s age or nods to iconic boy band dance moves. At every turn, the audience was locked in.

& Juliet flipped the script on the greatest love story ever told and turned tragedy into a Tony Award-nominated musical. Now the only tragic thing would be to miss it.

Tickets for & Juliet’s limited Chicago run can be found here.