Boasts numerous number one hits signboard Swedish songsmith Max Martin, who has made the Hot 100 more than any other music producer in history, is largely alone in the modern pop game. Among the songwriters, era-defining hits like “…Baby One More Time,” “I Kissed a Girl,” “Since You Been Gone,” and countless others Only Paul McCartney has written more number one songs than the man who brought us the songs.
But is there a Max Martin song on every beat of a heartfelt feminist revision of Shakespeare? romeo and juliet See a young Miss Capulet choose life over the dagger?
The team behind the 2023 Broadway musical sensation & juliet I certainly think so. The Tony Award-nominated jukebox jam, directed by Luke Shepard, features Martin’s biggest hits from 30 years, performed by more than a dozen artists, from Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys to Adam Lambert, Pink and The Weeknd. into a frenetic girl-power musical comedy. Along with the Emmy Award winner’s book Schitt’s Creek Screenwriter and producer David West Reid.
A large number of fans have already become believers. now, & julietis still playing on Broadway, but is coming to the rest of North America in a touring production that just started at the Kennedy Center. Produced with enthusiasm and style, the show takes full advantage of Martin’s co-written catalog, but not every song choice fits perfectly with Reed’s witty, minstrel delivery. isn’t it.
William “Will” Shakespeare himself appears as a character played by Corey Mach, aspiring to his timeless love story. But he is thwarted by his unknown and often forgotten wife, Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks), who is eager to reclaim her voice as a storyteller. Anne interjects thoughts of Juliet, who lives her life determined to find a happier ending than the tragedy her husband had in mind for her.
Opening each case with the Backstreet Boys’ numbers “Larger Than Life” and “I Want It That Way,” Will and Ann are portrayed as a power couple caught up in a conflict between the sexes. Establish a position. Mach and Wicks create a tingly tension between the couple, even though neither of them delivers knockout vocals in the pop style of Martin’s songs.
Wicks’ acting is definitely satisfying, but the delivery of the songs tends to be either too comical or sound like a showtune belter trying (too) hard to be a sassy rocker. Mach, on the other hand, registers as a better singer who doesn’t convey the light-funk vigor of Martin’s work, either on vocals or in Jennifer Webber’s music video-inspired choreography. This power couple is fascinating, but that’s not where the film’s power lies.
For that, we turn to Rachel Simone Webb’s wonderful Juliet. She begins with the urgent and passionate “…Baby One More Time” and ends with the soaring “Roa.” Webb, who graduated from understudying roles on Broadway, captures the character’s youthful naivety with just the right amount of humor, convincingly taking us on Juliet’s journey of self-discovery, and her vocals is amazing.
She wears both Shakespeare and Martin well. Of course, she’s also wearing Paloma Young’s Elizabethan-meets-MTV outfits. Also, Kathryn Allison, who plays Juliet’s nurse Angelique, and Paul-Jordan Jansen, who plays Angelique’s lover Lance, have received overwhelming support. Jansen gives these pop tunes an incongruous, classic brio that is consistently funny and fits the story perfectly, ultimately giving room for Romeo (Michael Kanu).
Not only does the late Juliet make a grand entrance to Bon Jovi’s “It’s My Life,” but Juliet also blows her away with Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone,” which is probably the best part of this song. The show is inspired by the best use of Martin’s hits.
Juliette is moving forward with the help of Anne, Angelique and her non-binary friend Mae (Nick Drake). Mae (Nick Drake) sings Britney’s “I’m Not a Girl,” perhaps the show’s most forced use of a Martin song. , not yet a woman. ”
Drake sings well, but the song is both too on point and too off base for a weird “I want” number. May sings that they are “just trying to find the woman inside me,” which raises questions that aren’t really addressed in this characterization.
“Mae is Mae and it doesn’t matter to us,” we are told, and even if songs like “I Kissed a Girl” don’t exactly apply, that message resonates. . The romance between May and François (Mateus Leite Cardoso) also resonates. François (Mateus Leite Cardoso) is another character Shakespeare did not write about, representing a side of young queer love that Shakespeare probably understood, if not fully embraced.
Did he also embrace musical adaptations of his greatest hits as a means of so-called pop Shakespeare? One can only imagine that he would appreciate similar elements of youthful silliness and star-crossed love that pervade Martin’s songs, declaring “I wish I did that” instead of “Oops…I did it again.” you can’t.
& Juliet (★★★☆☆) Playing at the Kennedy Center Opera House through January 5, 2025. Tickets range from $45 to $239. Call 202-467-4600 or visit: www.kennedy-center.org.
The national tour will include stops in Atlanta (1/7-12), Houston (1/21-26), Nashville (2/11-16), Providence (2/25-3/2), and Philadelphia (3/25-4). ) is also performed. /6), Cincinnati (4/8-20), Louisville (4/22-27), Minneapolis (5/13-18), Denver (6/4-15), Las Vegas (6/24-29), San Francisco (7/1-27), Seattle (7/29-8/3), Los Angeles (8/13-9/7), and many other cities in North America through 2026. For tickets and information, visit: www.andjulietbroadway.com then click “US Tour Tickets” at the top of the home page.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
