The nine-time 2023 Tony nominated musical
& Juliet arrived at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis this week. I knew very little about the show going into it, other than it had something to do with Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet, and the score was comprised of pop songs. No expectations often leads to a great experience at the theater, and that was definitely the case here. The book (written by
Schitt's Creek writer David West Read) is very clever in its meta structure, includes lots of Shakespeare references and a bit of rhyme, and is modern, feminist, and very funny. The score features well-chosen pop songs by artists of the last few decades, from Britney Spears to the Backstreet Boys to Katy Perry, all of them written or co-written by prolific Swedish songwriter
Max Martin. And despite the fact that I knew maybe a third of these songs (I'm a nerd, I don't know pop music from any decade), I found it to be a really fun, entertaining, feel-good show.
& Juliet continues at the Orpheum Theatre through May 18 only.
