🌟 Rachel Simone Webb as Juliet in & Juliet is “Larger Than Life”

If you've always been bummed out by the (SPOILER ALERT if you're somehow unfamiliar with the source material) double suicide in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, you're going to want to see how the tragedy has been reimagined as a lighthearted comedy.

& Juliet, the 2022 Broadway hit musical coming to the Belk Theater Oct. 22 through 27, is rife with #girlpower. In David West Read’s (the Emmy-winning writer/producer of Schitt’s Creek) retelling, Juliet is a feminist hero in charge of her own destiny.

And her story of overcoming heartbreak is told, in part, through song. Nearly every tune in this jukebox musical is by Max Martin, the songwriter/producer responsible for more #1 hits than anyone this century. (There is one new original song called One More Try.)

Juliet isn’t the only empowered female in the musical. Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway, suggests an alternate ending after reading her husband’s draft. She’s tired of his tragedies and encourages him to write something lighter.

Anne may feel a sort of motherly love for the Juliet character her husband created. After all, in Shakespeare’s version, Juliet is only 13.

In & Juliet, the bereft Juliet cures her heartache by running off to Paris with her girlfriends.

Her transformation into a woman in control is part of what attracted Rachel Webb to the title role.

(Mateus Leite Cardoso and Rachel Simone Webb in the North American Tour of & JULIET - Photo Credit Matthew Murphy) 

 

Welcome, Swifties

Juliet’s story is set to upbeat music that underscores her journey from heartbreak to happiness. Who could be sad while listening to Backstreet Boys’ I Want it That Way‚ Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling!, Kelly Clarkson’s Since U Been Gone?  

All those hits come from Martin, the Grammy Award-winning Swedish songwriter and record producer who’s written (or co-written) an astounding 27 Billboard No. 1 singles for the likes of Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and the Weeknd.

(The company of the North American Tour of & JULIET - Photo Credit Matthew Murphy)

He’s been nearly as prolific as a certain playwright from Stratford-upon-Avon. The press materials – and Webb – even refer to Martin as “basically the Shakespeare of pop music.”

The show is pure ear candy, which is not to say there's no eye candy involved. There's plenty of that, too.

The costumes, for instance, combine Elizabethan high collars and corsets with modern street fashion like jeggings. Fans have started blogs dedicated just to & Juliet’s eye-popping costumes. And superfans sometimes come to performances looking the part.

“Fans have been so creative in putting together costumes in colors that match those on stage,” Webb said. “I see pink and fuchsia, lavender and blue. This is all thanks to Paloma Young and her brilliant costume design.”

Young was nominated for a Tony Award for & Juliet – one of nine nominations the show received. She’d already won the Tony in 2012 for Peter and the Starcatcher, as well as the Lucille Lortel Award in 2014 for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.

(Michael Canu and the company of the North American Tour of & JULIET - Photo Credit Matthew Murphy) 

The costumes are just one element – but an important one – that makes the show so much fun. (Every gal knows the power of a great outfit.) But the show belongs to Juliet … with support from Shakespeare’s long-suffering wife.

More power to her

Webb, on her first national tour, is highly qualified to play the lead, having understudied for Juliet in the show’s pre-Broadway run in Toronto and on Broadway.

When Webb was promoted, she said, “I had to think of myself as not just the lead in the play, but the lead among the cast. Our choreographer and associate choreographer helped empower me by telling me: ‘You are Juliet.’”

Just as Juliet is empowered to take charge of her life, the actress playing her was similarly empowered.

“One of the most important things about Juliet’s story is that she’s empowering herself,” Webb said. “And seeing that, the audience is also empowered.” 

(Rachel Simone Webb and the company of the North American Tour of & JULIET - Photo Credit Matthew Murphy)

& Juliet is recommended for ages 8+ and contains adult language. This production uses flashing/strobe lighting, loud noises, confetti cannons and pyrotechnics.