{"id":511908,"date":"2022-11-18T05:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T02:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/fun-songs-but-plot-is-bard-to-love\/"},"modified":"2022-11-18T05:01:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-18T02:01:00","slug":"fun-songs-but-plot-is-bard-to-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fun-songs-but-plot-is-bard-to-love\/","title":{"rendered":"#Fun songs, but plot is Bard to love"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2eaecff3aa4\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a2eaecff3aa4\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fun-songs-but-plot-is-bard-to-love\/#%E2%80%9CFun_songs_but_plot_is_Bard_to_love%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Fun songs, but plot is Bard to love&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CFun_songs_but_plot_is_Bard_to_love%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Fun songs, but plot is Bard to love&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<p>The new Broadway musical \u201c&amp; Juliet\u201d is \u201cSix\u201d minus five.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like that latter original pop-music-packed show did with the sextet of spurned wives of Henry VIII, this jukebox Pixie Stick, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vividseats.com\/-juliet-tickets--theater-musical\/performer\/122148?wsUser=1006\">which opened Thursday night<\/a>, has one of William Shakespeare\u2019s ingenues, Juliet Capulet, reclaim her tragic story from her BF Romeo.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n        <span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow widget-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n            Theater review      <\/span><\/p>\n<p>        2 hours, 30 minutes, with one intermission. Stephen Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St.\n    <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The 21st century girl-power revisions begin at opening night of \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d in 1597 London, when Shakespeare\u2019s irritated wife, Anne Hathaway, played by the very funny Betsy Wolfe, intervenes. Why, she asks, does Juliet have to die?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe she doesn\u2019t kill herself just because he killed himself,\u201d she insists before singing \u201cI Want It That Way\u201d by the Backstreet Boys and making her husband, played by Stark Sands, redo his tragedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Instead, as Anne demands, Juliet (Lorna Courtney) will run away with best friends May (Justin David Sullivan, the most emotionally effective performer), who\u2019s questioning their gender; April (Wolfe), a character designed by Anne to insert herself into the silly story; and the comedy relief, nurse Angelique (Melanie La Barrie), to ooh-la-la Paris to go wild and find a hot new guy. And the Shakespeare frame story gets lamer as the show goes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Juliet-Stark-Sands-and-Betsy-Wolfe-0475-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Stark Sands and Betsy Wolfe play William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway going through a marital spat in &quot;&amp; Juliet&quot; on Broadway. \" class=\"wp-image-24694452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Juliet-Stark-Sands-and-Betsy-Wolfe-0475-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Juliet-Stark-Sands-and-Betsy-Wolfe-0475-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Juliet-Stark-Sands-and-Betsy-Wolfe-0475-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Stark Sands and Betsy Wolfe play William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway going through a marital spat in \u201c&amp; Juliet\u201d on Broadway. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew Murphy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This sporadically fun musical from \u2014 where else! \u2014 Great Britain with a loony book by David West Read suggests this idea is somehow very feminist; that taking a dagger for your poisoned man is the ultimate failure of the Bechdel test. A bit self-righteous coming from a show that includes \u201cI Kissed a Girl and I Liked It\u201d by Katy Perry, dontcha think?<\/p>\n<p>The key to enjoying yourself at \u201c&amp; Juliet\u201d \u2014 and it is, indeed, an empty-headed good time \u2014 is to ignore the plot entirely and pretend you\u2019re at a concert. And to have the bartender fill your souvenir sippy cup right to the rim with your booze of choice.<\/p>\n<p>Making projecting your mind to MSG easy is the suite of pop songs by Max Martin, the producer responsible for boffo hits sung by Britney Spears, Perry, the Backstreet Boys, C\u00e9line Dion and others. Many of those radio favorites are crammed in here. Martin had a lot of No. 1 singles, but his bounty \u2014 narratively, emotionally, musically \u2014 is not as boundless as the sea. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Ben-Jackson-Walker-Lorna-Courtney-Betsy-Wolfe-Melanie-La-Barrie-0894-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Romeo (Ben Jackson Walker) and Juliet (Lorna Courtney, center) have unfinished business.  \" class=\"wp-image-24694920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Ben-Jackson-Walker-Lorna-Courtney-Betsy-Wolfe-Melanie-La-Barrie-0894-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Ben-Jackson-Walker-Lorna-Courtney-Betsy-Wolfe-Melanie-La-Barrie-0894-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Ben-Jackson-Walker-Lorna-Courtney-Betsy-Wolfe-Melanie-La-Barrie-0894-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Romeo (Ben Jackson Walker) and Juliet (Lorna Courtney, center) have unfinished business.  <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew Murphy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201c&amp; Juliet\u201d is a millennial-seeking missile aimed at audience members, such as myself, who grew up on Martin\u2019s catchy tunes. And those nostalgic memories are surely why the phenomenal young cast is visibly enjoying themselves a lot more than your usual company of \u201cJersey Boys\u201d does. <\/p>\n<p>But unlike the substantial story arcs of ABBA songs used in \u201cMamma Mia!\u201d or the much more artful pop of \u201cMoulin Rouge! The Musical\u201d (Elton John, David Bowie, Lady Gaga) a few blocks away, Martin\u2019s music is frustratingly vague and static. With 29 of his songs strung together and orchestrated to sound roughly the same, the effect can be mind-numbing.<\/p>\n<p>To help the score make a lick of sense in context, much of the show, energetically directed by Luke Sheppard, is set in the nightclub-like castle of Lance DuBois (Paulo Szot), whose cute son Fran\u00e7ois (Philippe Arroyo) is pursuing both Juliet and May.<\/p>\n<p>A flirty Juliet continuously mispronounces his name as \u201cFrankie DeBoy,\u201d a stupid joke that dumbs down her character solely to enable a forced boy band megamix later on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Paulo-Szot-and-Melanie-La-Barrie-0240-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Lance (Paulo Szot) and Angelique (Melanie La Barrie) rekindle an old romance. \" class=\"wp-image-24694939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Paulo-Szot-and-Melanie-La-Barrie-0240-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Paulo-Szot-and-Melanie-La-Barrie-0240-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Paulo-Szot-and-Melanie-La-Barrie-0240-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Lance (Paulo Szot) and Angelique (Melanie La Barrie) rekindle an old romance. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew Murphy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Fifty-three-year-old Szot, by the way, is the unexpected best part of this confetti cannon of youth. Hearing the same soaring baritone that he brought to \u201cSome Enchanted Evening\u201d in \u201cSouth Pacific\u201d in 2008 used on a boudoir duet of \u201cTeenage Dream\u201d and \u201cBreak Free\u201d with La Barrie is wildly funny.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the show rarely is. Sometimes a song title will get a giggle, like \u201cSince U Been Gone\u201d when it\u2019s trotted out as Juliet is shocked to see Romeo again. However, writer Read leans too hard on groaner dad jokes. Sands\u2019 Shakespeare actually says, \u201cWhere there\u2019s a Will, there\u2019s a way.\u201d Out, damned line! <\/p>\n<p>Juliet\u2019s future is also complicated by the surprise return of Romeo (Ben Jackson Walker, but played by puppy dog Daniel Maldonado at my performance).\u00a0He belts out Bon Jovi\u2019s \u201cIt\u2019s My Life,\u201d which is a much-needed rock break from all the bubblegum. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Philippe-Arroyo-and-Justin-David-Sullivan-in-Juliet-0795-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Francois (Philippe Arroyo) and May (Justin-David-Sullivan) are caught in the middle of an unexpected love triangle. \" class=\"wp-image-24694988\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Philippe-Arroyo-and-Justin-David-Sullivan-in-Juliet-0795-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Philippe-Arroyo-and-Justin-David-Sullivan-in-Juliet-0795-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Philippe-Arroyo-and-Justin-David-Sullivan-in-Juliet-0795-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Fran\u00e7ois (Philippe Arroyo, left) and May (Justin David Sullivan) are caught in the middle of an unexpected love triangle. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Matthew Murphy<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Courtney makes a kind, sometimes-geeky heroine who fabulously wails Perry\u2019s \u201cRoar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But as soon as she\u2019s done, and we are busy wiping away the pointless confetti from our blazers and frocks, we wonder of the entire second act: \u201cWhat just h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened?\u201d Doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p>In Shakespeare\u2019s original play, Romeo says, \u201cO teach me how I should forget to think.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201c&amp; Juliet\u201d will teach you, Romeo. And all of us, too.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/11\/17\/juliet-broadway-review-fun-songs-but-plot-is-bard-to-love\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Fun songs, but plot is Bard to love&#8221; The new Broadway musical \u201c&amp; Juliet\u201d is \u201cSix\u201d minus five.\u00a0 Like that latter original pop-music-packed show did with the sextet of spurned wives of Henry VIII, this jukebox Pixie Stick, which opened Thursday night, has one of William Shakespeare\u2019s ingenues, Juliet Capulet, reclaim her tragic story from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":511909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/11\/Lorna-Courtney-and-the-cast-of-Juliet-1863-Photo-Credit-Matthew-Murphy.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[135705,29467,72707,70731],"class_list":["post-511908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-11-17-22","tag-broadway","tag-musicals","tag-theater-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}