& Juliet, now performing in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre on their national tour, is a bombastic jukebox musical combo of Shakespeare and ‘90s and 2000s pop music that will leave a gigantic smile on your face when you leave the theatre.

Though I can severely nitpick on the women & LGBTQIA+ empowerment storyline messages that has a habit of forcefully asserting how aware they are (a symptom that I find to be prevalent amongst white male writers) and that the plot disappointingly leaves the characters back to square one despite the messages, there is no doubt that the combo of incredible actors, dazzling costume/set/light design, infectious choreography, and good ol’ ‘90s and 2000s pop music nostalgia is a potent one absolutely worth seeing.

The hilarious new musical & Juliet flips the script on the greatest love story ever told and asks: what would happen if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as she ditches her famous ending for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love — her way.

Utilizing the real life information that William Shakespeare’s wife was Anne Hathaway (yes they make a joke about the name in comparison to our current one), the musical opens with a debate between the two of whether or not Juliet should be given more of her own agency and simply not die alongside Romeo in the Shakespeare text. The premise is introduced in a blitz fashion played with much aplomb by Teal Wicks and Corey Mach as Anne and Shakespeare respectively and immediately we are off to a “what if?” scenario where Juliet that mixes the 16th century period clothing with that of ‘90s bright and neon fashion along with modern technology aspects.

It is best for those who are logical minded to not think about it too hard as the playwright couple also inserts themselves into the story and make things suddenly happen with their magical quill power. Yes, it’s that kind of show and you better get on the magical train!

There is so much love to about this ensemble cast because the cast is at the top of their game and looks like they’re having so much fun that we as the audience will certainly go with them wherever they go. From the gorgeous leading anchor of Rachel Simone Webb as Juliet, the hilarious and endearing Nick Drake as Juliet’s best friend May, the adorably cute and nerdy Mateus Leite Cardoso as François, the douchey bad boy Ben Jackson Walker as Romeo, the powerful and delightful Kathryn Allison as Angélique, and the uproarious scene stealer Paul-Jordan Jansen as Lance, there is not a single weak link in the cast.

You also need to pay attention to the rest of the ensemble cast who make up the backbone of the show as they are dancing and singing their butts off while also getting memorable bit turns as various characters. Kate Mina Lin gets a special shoutout for quite the hilarious moment as Benvolio with the height difference between her and Walker as Romeo so considerable that when she had to jump so high to chest bump him, the audience absolutely lost it.

Did I mention how groovy the costume design was? My goodness, it’s not often I see a show and throughout it muttering that I wanted the entire wardrobe for myself. Paloma Young, bravo, freaking bravo. To compliment the costume design is the equally wonderful set design by Soutra Gilmour and lighting design by Howard Hudson. With a top notch choreography by Jennifer Weber and direction by Luke Sheppard to put it all together, my biggest criticism out of all of this would be the book written by David West Read. Spoilers ahead so you can skip the next part if you wish to see this musical without knowing anything.

For a story about women empowerment and choosing your own fate and destiny, especially if this is a story about Juliet finding her own way (and also finding out at the beginning of the musical that Romeo had many, many lovers), it was rather disappointing to see that she ends up back with him in the final moments even though it was amusing that Romeo comes back to life as Shakespeare decided that his wife’s storytelling did not have enough conflict and drama. Granted, Juliet did create her own space that it should not be immediate marriage (even though they *technically* are still married), the songs they would sing to each other would heavily imply that the two needed to find their “own way.”

What is more disappointing is the B-story with Shakespeare and Anne as their bickering over how the play should go turns into a rather unnecessary dramatic story about how Shakespeare did not ever appreciate his wife as a creative talent but only as a wife and mother of their children. Anne makes a revelation that she could do indeed much better but even with Shakespeare singing a Backstreet Boys song to get her back, I did not buy it whatsoever that she should ever forgive him to be worthy of having back.

The musical also had a lot of couples paired up with each other as we also see another romantic storyline with Lance and Angélique as well as May and François with the most successful storyline being the latter even though the former was quite adorable to watch. Out of all of the couple pairings, May and François worked the best with me because their love story is not about trying to move away from their past relationships and finding their own path but that of two kindred spirits that simply love each other for who they are.

There is a tendency in many plays and musicals these days where the writing needs to insert their social awareness message in such a forceful manner as opposed to letting the material and their characters speak for themselves naturally. Whether it would be about women empowerment or finding acceptance in exploring the LGBTQIA+ space, this musical was riddled with such forceful messages throughout.

I do suspect it is a symptom that many male writers, particularly white male writers, tend to have where they resort to telling, rather than showing, especially when it comes to showcasing gender and racial diversity. It is therefore ironic that for such empowerment messages to be highlighted throughout the musical, most of the characters never do find their own way as the need to satisfy the “everyone gets together” trope overpowers the need to truly find independence.

Major story nitpickings aside, I still had a tremendous time watching this delightful musical and would highly recommend to all you readers if you can catch this show in your nearest city during their North American tour. It is unfortunately that I identify with being an “elder millennial” that the nostalgic music and choreography almost had me dismiss the more critical aspects of this play but such observations do need to be made.

Also I do very appreciate how many global majority actors there were in the ensemble cast even though I feel we could push it further with Shakespeare and Anne also being played by global majority talent so it doesn’t seem so much like it’s a musical about these white power players creating a story particularly since race is not a factor mentioned whatsoever. Not every piece needs to be modified where the discussions of race must be integrated into the storyline as sometimes, it is good to simply have a story that just happens to have so many global majority talent taking part.

& Juliet performs at Center Theatre Group, Ahmanson Theatre through September 7. It then moves to Segerstrom Center for the Arts September 9 to 21. You can catch the rest of their tour dates and other cities they are going to by visiting here.

CENTER THEATRE GROUP
Venue: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90012 
Dates:  Now through Sunday, September 7, 2025 
Schedule: Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm. Fridays at 8:00 pm.
Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm. Sundays at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm 
Tickets: Website — CenterTheatreGroup.org 
Phone — Audience Services at (213) 628-2772  
Prices – Start at $47.15
In person — Center Theatre Group Box Office (at the Ahmanson Theatre) at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012 
Groups —centertheatregroup.org/tickets/groups-and-corporate-offers 
Access: Center Theatre Group offers a number of services to accommodate  persons requiring mobility, vision, and hearing access.  
Information:Please visit CenterTheatreGroup.org/Access.

SEGERSTROM CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Venue: Segerstrom Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA  92626
Dates: Tuesday, September 9 to Sunday, September 21, 2025 
Schedule: Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: Prices – Start at $44.00
In-Person – Box Office, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone – Monday – Friday 10am to 5pm (714) 556-2787
Online – SCFTA.org