It was fun.

2023 me would’ve ended the review at that, just like I did for Six. However, I’m now an almost-award-winning theatre critic – I can’t rest on my laurels. And I didn’t sit in the audience vigorously taking notes looking like an obnoxious person for nothing. So, I shall elaborate.

Look. I’ve been avoiding seeing & Juliet for…however many years it’s been around. I’m not generally a big fan of jukebox musicals, nor do I believe every pop song deserves to be musicalized. But I’ve grown quite partial to the Peloton & Juliet ride. There’s something slightly unsettling (yet also comforting?) about sweating profusely while a legit baritone earnestly belts Everybody by the Backstreet Boys. Plus, I watched a *slime tutorial* (read: a recording) of the original Broadway cast on YouTube, and I was pleasantly surprised. So when a gap in my schedule appeared on a random Wednesday afternoon, I grabbed a last-minute seat. I came in cautiously optimistic – after all, my critic colleagues seemed unanimously smitten.

For those not in the know, & Juliet is a 2019 Broadway musical imagining what would happen if Juliet didn’t die at the end of Romeo and Juliet. A cute premise. It’s written by David West Read (of Schitt’s Creek fame), and features pop music by hitmaker Max Martin. Think NSYNC’s It’s Gonna Be Me, Britney’s Oops! I Did It Again, and Katy Perry’s Roar. The current Toronto production is a replica, sit-down version of the original – basically like a National tour, except the show is meant to remain in one theatre for as long as there is demand.

Now, there was one key difference between my previous interactions with the material and seeing the musical live: I’d never experienced the entire show in one sitting. The Peloton ride is 30 minutes long, and I watched the YouTube video in chunks over a couple of days. I’ll cut to the chase: my biggest issue with & Juliet is that it’s too long. It’s undeniably impressive that Max Martin has amassed so many hits, and equally impressive that David West Read found a way to weave so many of them into a fairly cohesive narrative. I also appreciate that they mostly use long cuts of the songs – unlike the Broadway adaptation of Moulin Rouge!, which feels like a string of 30-second snippets of every Top 40 song ever written. But alas, & Juliet still drags, especially Act I, which feels never-ending.

Tonally, the show confuses me. I want it to feel like the writer is winking at the audience – modernizing Shakespeare while gently poking fun at the absurdity of the 1590s. Sometimes it achieves that (yay), and the jokes land well. Often, though, it feels like the show is outright mocking Shakespeare and flattening the source material in a bid to sound cool for the youth. There are sentences like “Yes, get it,” “Yaas queen,” “Werk,” and, my personal favourite, “I am a douche.” At times it feels as though the script talks down to the audience – for example, when Juliet thinks her new beau, François, is dead, and says (I wrote this down): “I thought you were dead. I mean, I thought, ‘not again.’” She could have simply said, “Not again,” with a knowing glance, and achieved the same effect. The show is also pretty explicit in sharing its messaging. Not to say that any of the takeaways are bad (e.g. female empowerment, remaining true to yourself, etc.)…just that they’re spoon-fed to the audience.

Stylistically, I’m also a bit lost. The costumes mash up traditional Shakespearean silhouettes with ‘modern’ pieces – cutoff shorts, purple leggings, sparkly crop tops. Some looks are cool and sculptural (Juliet’s mother’s blouses are neat); others feel a tad dated. Why is Shakespeare wearing 2007-era ripped skinny jeans? Plus, many of the costumes have a slight grungy finish, though not in a deliberate way – more “laundry day” than conceptual commentary. We don’t need reminders of 1590s hygiene standards.

The staging, too, feels a liiiiiittle extra. I love a turntable. I did not know it was possible to have too much turntable. I have been proven wrong. And I wasn’t a big fan of the digital backdrops, though they’re in line with the rest of the show’s design elements, so props for consistency.

What this show truly needs is a strong cast to sell the camp. The All-Canadian company has been heavily highlighted in promotional materials. And I really hate to be the voice of dissent, but on the whole, I wasn’t completely sold. My one productive note: vary the dynamics. Too many songs live at one volume: loud. By the end of this marathon of a show, the exhaustion is audible. To be fair, Wednesday matinees in the dead of winter are not for the faint of heart. Let’s call it a possible off day.

Don’t get me wrong, there were several performances I really enjoyed, including:

• David Jeffery as Romeo (great vocals, sharp line reads, makes the most of every moment)
• Vanessa Sears as Juliet (rock solid. She didn’t phone it in on a Wed. PM)
• Tiera Lee Watts as Anne (the understudy; strong comedic instincts)
• Elysia Cruz in the ensemble (she lights up the stage. I looked for her in every scene!)
• David Silverstri as Lance and Sarah Nairne as Angelique (great playful energy)
• George Krissa as George Krissa (I mean, Shakespeare)

Overall, & Juliet will remain on the top of my personal Peloton leaderboard. It’s a fun musical, and if it’s what gets you into the theatre, I’m all for it. But it’s not one of my faves.