& Juliet brings Shakespeare's heroine back to life with Max Martin's pop hits

What if, instead of taking her own life at the end of Romeo and Juliet, the heroine lived? That premise powers & Juliet, a jukebox musical opening at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre on September 29.

Canadian writer David West Read created the show, which stacks Max Martin's catalogue of chart-topping songs—including Since U Been Gone, I Want It That Way, Roar, and Britney Spears' …Baby One More Time—into a narrative where Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, persuades her husband to rewrite the tragedy so Juliet survives. Newly alive and single, Juliet heads to Paris with her friends in search of a fresh start, while Shakespeare and Anne meddle with her story from the sidelines. Romantic complications, and a couple of dozen Martin hits, ensue.

Read was given access to Martin's vast catalogue and set himself one constraint: he would not change any of the lyrics. "So many of his songs are about heartbreak and young love, and the ultimate story of heartbreaking young love is Romeo and Juliet," Read said. "So if we're going to repurpose and reinvent all Max's music, then maybe we can do the same thing with that story."

Since its 2019 premiere at Manchester Opera House, & Juliet has moved to London's West End, Toronto, and Broadway, where it earned nine Tony nominations including Best Musical and Best Book. …Baby One More Time, the 1998 Britney smash, became Martin's first U.S. No. 1 as a songwriter.

& Juliet runs September 29 to October 4 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton Street. Tickets start at $57.