A number of West End favourites have joined the cast of & Juliet, the major new musical which envisions a happy ending for William Shakespeare’s Juliet.
Featuring the music of prolific pop hit writer Max Martin and starring rising theatrical star and award-winner Miriam-Teak Lee (Hamilton, On The Town) in the title role, & Juliet will use Martin’s most iconic modern pop songs to accompany a re-imagined Juliet who finds a way past her doomed romance with Romeo by embarking on a whirlwind trip to Paris.
Lee will be joined by Cassidy Janson (Chess, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical); Oliver Tompsett (Kinky Boots, Wicked); Arun Blair-Mangat (Leave to Remain, Angels in America); Melanie La Barrie (Wicked, Matilda); Jordan Luke Gage (Bat Out of Hell) and Tim Mahendran (Spring Awakening).
The ensemble includes Jocasta Almgill, Josh Baker, Alishia-Marie Blake, Ivan De Freitas, Rhian Duncan, Danielle Fiamanya, Kieran Lai, Nathan Lorainey-Dineen, Jaye Marshall, Grace Mouat, Antoine Murray-Straughan, Kerri Norville, Christopher Parkinson, Dillon Scott-Lewis, Kirstie Skivington and Alex Tranter.
Directed by Luke Sheppard (In The Heights), the production will debut with a limited season at the Manchester Opera House beginning in September 2019 before arriving at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in November.
Swedish-born songwriter and producer Martin, first made his mark in the 1990s with hits including Britney Spears’ ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’, Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’ and The Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’.
More recently, Martin has written or co-written hits for today’s biggest stars including Adele, Ellie Goulding, Kelly Clarkson, Usher, Taylor Swift and Pink.
Details of which of Martin’s songs will feature in & Juliet have yet to be confirmed, but the tracks will be modified for the production with new arrangements by Tony and Grammy Award-winning orchestrator Bill Sherman.
The creative team will also include choreographer Jennifer Weber, set designer Soutra Gilmour and costume designer Paloma Young.
With a story by David West Read, the production will launch in Manchester from 10 September until 12 October before beginning its West End run on 2 November ahead of a press night on 20 November.
& Juliet will also feature the characters of Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway who will take opposite sides in Juliet’s battle to change her story and discover life after Romeo.
Angela Thomas
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