***** They say that “love is lovelier the second time around”, and once in awhile, seeing a play is just that. I recall seeing “& Juliet” a few seasons ago as part of the Broadway In Chicago series and tonight, the new rendition of Max Martin & Friends (music & lyrics) and David West Read’s (book) “& Juliet” under the direction of Luke Sheppard rocked The Auditorium  Theatre at Roosevelt University. I wasn’t sure if they did something special to the seating area, but on several occasions our seats were vibrating with the rock music that we were hearing. This is a MUST SEE ( and I mean people of all ages and genders!

The seven musicians were amazing and the cast, headlined by Fabiola Caraballo Quijada as Juliet is positively one of the highest energized and talented ensembles I have seen in quite some time, and you know that I see a great number of productions every year. Just so you know, if you couldn’t guess, “& Juliet” is a different angled version of “Romeo & Juliet”, and this one is more of from the female side as William Shakespeare (deftly handled by CJ Eldred) finds his wife, Anne Hathaway ( played to perfection by Crystal Kellogg) comes to the rehearsal to rewrite the epic tale of  thwarted love.

The fighting for power between husband and wife in how the play should evolve is both comical and in some ways thought provoking. If we look at most of the classic works of Shakespeare, the women’s roles are the least importance, and of course in Romeo and Juliet, they both die while very young, so the question is “What if Juliet didn’t die? That is what Anne pens and we see Juliet and pals head off to Paris where her new life begins. Juliet  takes her maidservant Angelique ( adorably played by Kathryn Allison) and her new “bestie”, ,May ( a powerful and delightful portrayal by Nico Ochoa). May’s character is a gender bender ( but remember, Shakespeare was an expert at bringing characters outside the gender binary, so sit back and relax. You will love Ochoa’s character and wait to you hear them sing).

When they get to France, Juliet meets Francois (Noah Marlowe) and sets her eyes on him as her new romance. Meanwhile Francois meets May and there is great chemistry. Francois father ,Lance ( an incredibly comical Joey Fatone) finds that Juliet’s handmaiden  Angelique is an old flame of his and love blooms ( again with the second time around). Shakespeare is not happy with Anne’s take on how the story should go and finds a way to change the Romeo ( Joseph Torres) death aspect, making him come alive in the second act and all hell breaks loose as to who should be with who and how can we get there. This amazing and as I said earlier, highly energetic troupe of performers truly make it all come together and have a blast ( as does the audience) doing so!

The ensemble is composed of: Jared Alexander, Dasean Brown, Bridgette Carey, Lois Ellise, Josh Fermin, Jourdan Ibe, Armani Ponder-Keith, Cayla Primous, Matt Rene Rivera, Bex Robinson, Kayla Saunders, Robbie Serrano, Kyra Smith, Alex Tho, Daniel Tracht, and Ryan Winkler. They sing, they dance, the move set pieces about and they make this show truly work! As I said before, a far better production than the last one we saw. I must say the choreography by Jennifer Weber is powerful and the sets (Soutra Gilmour), lighting (Howard Hudson), sound (Garth Owen) and costumes (Paloma Young) were all terrific.

FYI The musical numbers were not known to Jane and I, but there were a great number of “groupies” in the opening night audience, who anticipated every action and song and got us old-timers into the swing of things. This is a “rock musical” that will raise your energy level for sure. Some of the songs are: “Show Me Love” , “It’s My Life”, “I Kissed A Girl”, “Love Me Like You Do” and a host of others. Each song helps to complete this powerful love story as told by the Shakespeare’s, Bill and Anne!

” & Juliet” will continue Thru – Aug 2nd with performances as follows:

Tuesdays        7:00pm
Wednesdays  1:00pm & 7:00pm
Thursdays      7:00pm
Fridays           7:30pm
Saturdays      2:00pm & 7:30pm
Sundays         1:00pm

Price: $40-$180

The Auditorium Theater is located at 50 East Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago.

Best value for parking- Grant Park Underground Garage.

Show Type: Musical

Box Office: 800-775-2000

Running Time: 2hrs, 30mins

www.auditoriumtheatre.org

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at ” & Juliet”.