[yasr_overall_rating]
The musical opened last November at the Shaftesbury Theater in London. Critics praised the show but what did we think of this musical jukebox?
The plot is interesting: Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife challenges the playwright to rewrite the end of her play: what if Juliette had not committed suicide? An adventure in Paris follows, promises of weddings, misunderstandings but above all a lot of pop songs.
Discover the trailer for the show, currently in London:
A pop musical jukebox
The special thing about this show is that all the music we hear was written by Max Martin for stars like Katy Perry, Jessie J, Britney Spears and many others.
The songs are well paced and make you want to join the artists, who put their hearts into it on stage.
The musical arrangements of Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro work well for the stage and for such a large cast and retain the "feel-good" element of these songs.
These songs don't have an emotional arc to the characters and they all end up sounding alike and sometimes flow together without explanation.
Feminist power?
Jennifer Weber's hip-hop choreography is super dynamic and perfectly executed, and danced in flashy half-Victorian, half-contemporary costumes.
The decor is almost constantly in motion, taking us to Parisian balls and to Verona.
One element that reasons strongly is the LGBTQ + side of the show: Juliette's best friend, non-binary and also living a love story. We are witnessing a superb version of "… Not Yet a Woman" which takes on a new meaning, on the character's gender identity.
The women speak loudly and are put at the center of the plot. However, they all end up falling back into the arms of the men from whom they claim to be independent, even if it means accumulating clichés.
The show still has some very funny moments like the intervention of the song “Oops… I Did It Again” or situation comics and puns. But, most of the time, as soon as a joke works, it is pushed too far and repeated, which plunges the pace of the show.
Some actors really stand out: Jordan Luke Gage who plays Romeo, Tim Mahendran who is François. The superb Melanie Barrie and David Bedella who bring good moments of comedy.
A good evening at the theater if you are a fan of the music of Swedish artist Max Martin. Tickets are still available here.