William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has long been fertile ground for reinvention: from adaptations including West Side Story and Gnomeo & Juliet to modernized productions like Broadway’s current Sam Gold–Jack Antonoff collaboration and Folger Theater’s extrapolitical take earlier this season. But what if those star-crossed lovers hadn’t died? And what if Juliet was given the chance to begin anew as a young woman free of her warring family? And, as an added bonus, what if the soundtrack of her life happened to be curated by one of the most successful pop producers of all time? Those are the central questions of & Juliet, a jukebox musical featuring more than two dozen of music producer Max Martin’s greatest hits and playing at Kennedy Center through January 5. Book writer David West Read revives two historical characters — Shakespeare (Corey Mach) and his wife, Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks), who are themselves navigating a fraught marital dynamic — to facilitate this dramatic reimagining, rejecting most of our notions about the ill-fated teens and imploring us to question even those whose lives are written into historic texts. Rachel Simone Webb (Juliet) and Michael Canu (Romeo) in the North American Tour of ‘& Juliet.’ Photo by Matthew Murphy. Heady stuff, right? Don’t worry! That’s where Martin’s veritable hit parade comes in, helping to keep things rolling merrily along. But & Juliet’s biggest asset is also its largest challenge, as Martin’s astonishing musical canon (made famous by artists including Britney Spears, NSYNC, Katy Perry, and Kelly Clarkson) at times overwhelms Read’s book beneath its weight. The exhilaration that comes with hearing such hits as “Teenage Dream” and “Since You Been Gone” presents the kind of challenge that any jukebox musical has to confront: how can you effectively retrofit a throughline onto an assortment of beloved, disparate songs and maintain the integrity of the whole? In Read’s riff on the classic tale, Hathway challenges her husband to take her on as a writing partner and allow her to help him consider a new life for Juliet (Rachel Simone Webb) post-Romeo. With a band of friends, including her nurse Angélique (Kathryn Allison), Juliet steals off to Paris (the place, not the prince) to avoid compulsory nunhood, rushes into an engagement she soon breaks off when realizing her new fiancé (Mateus Leite Cardoso as François) loves another, and at least considers a revived Romeo’s pleas for a continuation of their love story. By the end, she realizes the future belongs to her. Her journey is one of a young woman claiming independence and growing into her power. Her arc also makes for one heck of an eleven o’clock number (“Roar,” originally performed by Perry, and triumphantly reinterpreted here by Webb), and the anthem echoes Hathaway’s own journey of asserting her agency. She implores Shakespeare to recognize her contributions to their own unfolding story. One challenging aspect of the musical, however, is the treatment of May (Nick Drake), a nonbinary character who pines for Juliet’s fiancé-of-convenience. In our first introduction to May, Hathaway makes it clear to Shakespeare that May’s gender identity and sexual orientation are none of Shakespeare’s business (or the audience’s, for that matter). Yet, May is constantly having gender imposed upon them, first with the show’s only two songs that reference gender in their titles — “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” and “I Kissed a Girl” — and then with their relegation as a member of a “boy band” (or, in the show’s case, a “de Bois Band”). Plus, the first time we see May undergo major character development, it occurs in a bathroom. There is an unquestionable dearth of gender-expansive characters in musical theater. But & Juliet’s attempt to fill that void misses the mark. Fortunately, Drake is a hyper-talented performer who infuses May with a refreshing, often understated nuance. They are responsible for some of the evening’s most memorable and enjoyable musical performances. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Corey Mach (Shakespeare) and Teal Wicks (Anne); Rachel Simone Webb (Juliet) and Mateus Leite Cardoso (François); Teal Wicks (Anne), Rachel Simone Webb (Juliet), Nick Drake (May), and Kathryn Allison (Angélique); Mateus Leite Cardoso (François ) and Nick Drake (May), in the North American Tour of ‘& Juliet.’ Photos by Matthew Murphy. It’s the musical performances and flashy production elements that & Juliet is able to firmly hang its sparkly hat on. Director Luke Sheppard and choreographer Jennifer Weber keep the train moving at all times, resisting any urge to linger for even a moment too long. Music supervisor and arranger Bill Sherman’s contributions are especially critical, reimagining some of the most recognizable songs into new arrangements to both surprise the audience and establish refreshing ebbs and flows in the show’s musical journey. The first powerhouse rearrangement comes relatively early in the show when Anne finally convinces Shakespeare to let her have a try at the story. It’s here that Webb makes her first proper introduction as the title character in a stunning, slowed rendition of ”Baby One More Time.” And in Webb’s hands, the hits keep coming with exceptional execution. In addition to Webb and Drake, others in the cast have plenty of opportunities to shine as well. Wicks blends a more traditional Broadway sound into Anne’s assigned pop anthems, and Allison grounds Angélique’s silliness in a truthful, earnest love for Juliet. Her rendition of “Fuckin’ Perfect” is, no surprise, fuckin’ perfect. The Kennedy Center’s vast Opera House presents some inherent danger to touring musicals, whose sets must accommodate regional stages of various sizes. But & Juliet has no problem adapting Soutra Gilmour’s scenic design to the room, framing the proscenium with tall barn doors and leveraging the full depth and height of the space with projections (beautiful, by Andrzej Goulding), movable scenery, and flown-in set pieces that lift several performers above the stage. Lighting designer Howard Hudson brings bright washes of blue, purple, and pink, cut with green and yellow neon to achieve a singular look existing somewhere between ’90s grunge and Lisa Frank illustrations. The costumes reflect similar colors and style to the production around them, but costume designer Paloma Young’s real achievement is the delightfully witty mashup of Elizabethan and Renaissance touchstones with punk and hip hop fashion. As we move through winter’s shortest days, & Juliet’s top-notch musical performances and bright flashes of bold colors may very well lend the light to get you through to spring. Running Time: Two and a half hours with one intermission. & Juliet plays through January 5, 2025, on national tour in the Opera House at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets ($45–$239) online, at the box office, or by calling (202) 467-4600 or toll-free at (800) 444-1324. Box office hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 am-9 pm, and Sunday 12pm-9 pm. The program for & Juliet is online here. COVID Safety: Masks are optional in all Kennedy Center spaces for visitors and staff. Read more about the Kennedy Center’s mask policy here.