Each spring, every ninth grader at Brea Olinda High School reads William Shakespeare’s drama, Romeo and Juliet. And each spring, without fail, when readers reach the final scene, at least one student echoes Anne Hathaway’s character in the jukebox musical & Juliet: 

“Dear, the ending is shit.”

You’re probably already familiar with the story: In Shakespeare’s 1597 play, two teenagers from rival families — the Capulets and the Montagues — fall so deeply in love (okay, lust) after a few intense hours of smoldering eye contact, stolen kisses, and iambic pentameter, that they cannot bear to live without each other. Romeo and Juliet are so consumed by their feelings that they both [spoiler alert] “take their life” after witnessing the other’s death (or “death,” in Juliet’s case). 

But here’s the problem: Why does Juliet, just 13-years old, choose to stab herself in the heart after one failed relationship? What if she didn’t end it all over Romeo, instead thriving because of his absence?

Juliet deserves better, and she finally gets it in & Juliet, David West Read’s pop music-fueled musical which reimagines Juliet’s fate as one of empowerment versus tragic misunderstanding.

The show, directed by Luke Sheppard, made its debut in London in 2019 and premiered at Los Angeles’s Ahmanson Theater Aug. 13, gives the quick-witted Juliet an ending she deserves: escape from her tyrannical parents; socializing in Paris; rejecting the immature Romeo; belting out pop songs by Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys; and, oh, not dying. 

& Juliet’s charm is its irreverence, with a plot — a tug-of-war between William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, about authorship — punctuated by pop music classics. 

The musical opens with Hathaway asking, “What if Juliet didn’t die? That should almost be the start of the play.” She convinces Shakespeare to let her rewrite the ending to his original Romeo and Juliet, despite Shakespeare’s “I Want it That Way” moment. This time, Hathaway (now writer and narrator) gives Juliet a new beginning.

Basically, & Juliet rewrites the rules of who gets to write a story.

This 21st century version of Juliet (in her 20s here) isn’t dutifully waiting around for Romeo at her balcony – she’s far more emboldened here, so self-assured that she swings from chandeliers to Ke$ha’s “Blow,” strobe lights and fog machines included. She doesn’t need, nor even want, a Romeo to shelter her from new experiences. 

Juliet’s newfound agency is certainly more applicable to modern-day values, showing what freedom from the patriarchy looks like, and that a life of independence without all-encompassing romance can be equally fulfilling.

Shakespeare’s Juliet — and many of his female protagonists, in fact, from Lady Macbeth to King Lear’s Cordelia — was progressive for challenging patriarchal norms. In the original, Juliet is (mostly) rational and very well-spoken (many of the play’s most famous lines are attributed to her), and she does possess depth – she’s witty, thinks deeply about love, and bravely defies her parents. But she’s also friendless and succumbs impulsively and fatally to her fate.

Hathaway, in & Juliet, thinks she can give Juliet a better ending, or better yet, a new beginning.

In Hathaway’s retelling, Romeo isn’t the center of Juliet’s every moment, he’s comedic relief. When Shakespeare surprises Hathaway and the audience by resurrecting Romeo, he sings — all ego — Bon Jovi’s ballad “It’s My Life.” Juliet conveys her disdain by retorting with Arianna Grande’s “I’ve Got One Less Problem Without You.”

Popular hits of the 1990s and 2000s complement the show’s clever writing. The upbeat and familiar songs, coupled with the quirky update of Shakespeare’s tale, keep the audience engaged and swaying in their seats. Aside from one song, the music was written by composer Max Martin, including his hits “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” (Martin is regarded as one of the best songwriters of all time, holding the record for most 26 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, at 26.)

The stage design and costumes, by Soutra Gilmour and Paloma Young, respectively, sacrifice some historical accuracy by bedecking the stage in rainbow streamers and balloons, and outfitting performers in sneakers and bubble skirts. 

In the Los Angeles cast, Rachel Webb performs as Juliet, perfectly cast as the free-spirited protagonist; Corey Mach is hilariously stubborn and dramatic as the Bard; Josh Jordan nails the vapid Romeo, and Teal Wicks (exuding authority and passion) plays Hathaway. 

Unlike Shakespeare’s play, the audience isn’t compelled to decipher Mercutio’s Queen Mab monologue — they’re having too much fun with the show’s mashup of traditional and modern. For instance, in one memorable scene, the male characters – Shakespeare, Romeo, May, Lance, and Francois De Bois – are clad in silver sequins as the De Bois Band, performing “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” by The Backstreet Boys.

When Juliet is proposed to in a particularly awkward scene at a ball in Paris, finding herself in another quick engagement (but with no love, nor lust this time), she sings Britney Spears’s “Oops…I Did It Again.” The needle-drop is hilarious and perfectly-timed as she harkens back to Shakespeare’s original writing of the lightning-quick engagement to Romeo.

Besides employing a refreshing woman’s perspective to Juliet’s character, the purpose of & Juliet’s two-and-a-half hours is simply to have fun. The use of pyrotechnics, confetti cannons, and plot twists punctuated with pop music dazzles. The show culminates in a neon-lit, energetic finale that evokes both nostalgia and audience participation.

& Juliet succeeds in inspiring laughs, while simultaneously giving Juliet a chance at a life beyond Romeo. It’s an entertaining escape (as Shakespeare intended), but it’s also clear that this isn’t your English teacher’s Juliet.

Hathaway’s final one-liner to Shakespeare is, “We should rewrite all of your plays.” 

But perhaps what matters most is who gets to write the endings.

& Juliet makes its way to Orange County’s Segerstrom Theater in Costa Mesa Sep. 9.