DOWNTOWN – The hit jukebox musical from the most popular songwriter you’ve never heard of, Max Martin, is at the Civic Theatre through this weekend, presented by Broadway San Diego.
The cute and often silly musical follows Juliet in a wholly original plot in which she does not end it all after Romeo dies. Instead, Anne Hathaway takes up where her husband William Shakespeare left off to send Juliet and a gaggle of friends, chaperoned by her nurse, on a journey of self-discovery in Paris.
All of this is set to a pop playlist from the Grammy-winning Swedish songwriter behind dozens of most iconic songs of the ‘90s and 2000s to today. Top hits from Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, the Weeknd Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber and more make up the songbook.
Martin also wrote one original song, “One More Try” specifically for the musical.
Juliet on the balcony with the company of the North American tour of “& Juliet” (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Broadway San Diego)Book writer David West Read created the plot for the musical after being asked to come up with a concept based on Martin’s catalogue in 2016. West Read has experience with musicals, but is most known as a writer for Canadian TV comedy “Schitt’s Creek.”
He delved into the danceable tunes to excavate new meaning in the angsty lyrics about young love, heartbreak and celebrating life through the greatest love story of all time, in the process transforming “Romeo & Juliet” from tragedy to modern rom-com.
Between the intentional overacting of show stars, a punny script that explains the jokes as well as the Shakespeare references and the retro-pop songbook, the show feels like a live performance of a Disney Channel musical, a la the era of “Camp Rock” and “High School Musical.”
The audience ate it up.
With nostalgia from songs like “Oops!… I Did It Again,” “Since U Been Gone” and “I Want It That Way” coupled with a hilarious script, it’s no wonder the show has caught fire in the U.K., Australia, U.S., Germany and Canada.
The backstage concert feeling of the set (Soutra Gilmour), fun neon lighting (Howard Hudson), and mixed era fashions of the glittering costumes (Paloma Young) add to the camp of it all – not to mention the exaggerated French accent from original characters like Lance (Paul Jordan Jansen) that had the audience in stitches.
Kathryn Allison as Juliet’s nurse Angélique who has her own romantic storyline in Paris in “& Juliet.” (Photo by Matthew Murphy/Broadway San Diego)The young and enthusiastic cast includes 2025 Jimmy Award winner Fabiola Caraballo Quijada as an empowered Juliet, Noah Marlowe as awkward new love interest Frankie/François, and Nico Ochoa as tender-hearted nonbinary character May.
Seasoned actors bring humor and gravitas to their roles as Shakespeare (CJ Eldred), nurse Angelique (Kathryn Allison) and Anne Hathaway (Crystal Kellogg).
The limited, one-week engagement will be in San Diego at the Civic Theatre through Sunday, Oct. 19. Find tickets at broadwaysd.com.
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