The all-Canadian cast of & Juliet dazzled at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre last night, resulting in an experience that was, well, nearly "F*n Perfect."
I had held off seeing this musical for several reasons. Firstly, I am not one to support jukebox musicals with the rare exceptions being the Mamma Mia! films and Hell's Kitchen which I admittedly did not realize was a jukebox when I bought the ticket. Secondly, I feared the theatre would be filled with cellphone-addicted tourists crinkling candies and singing along to every pop tune, completely oblivious to theatre etiquette.
I finally caved when I learned Vanessa Sears, who was the standby Francine Evans in my favourite musical of all-time New York, New York, was leading the cast as Juliet. New York, New York closed prematurely and I regretted not getting to see Sears' take on Francine, so I decided to conquer my fears and buy a same-day partial view balcony ticket for a chilly Thursday evening in May.
Once I finally found my seat after getting slightly lost navigating the twisty red staircases on my way up to the half-full balcony, I settled in and hoped for the best.
Before the first act officially begins, costumed performers come onto the stage doing gymnastics and hyping up the audience. This particular night's audience did not seem too impressed by the pre-show antics and remained relatively unengaged.
The show started shortly after and I still remained skeptical for the first ten minutes or so until Sears, as Juliet, began to sing a slowed down, hauntingly-beautiful rendition of Britney Spears' "... Baby One More Time" which unexpectedly brought me to tears. From then on, I became highly engaged in the production, deciding to put my dislike towards jukebox musicals on the back burner.
As someone who has seen a lot of insanely talented vocalists on Broadway (Shoshana Bean, Joshua Henry, Idina Menzel and Patti LuPone, to name a few), I can honestly say that many in this company, notably Sears, were at, or nearly, the same level. I cannot imagine having to belt out some of these vocally-demanding pop songs eight times a week.
The choreography was also a standout. What could have been very dated, familiar and uninspired dance routines were instead highly energetic and engaging. From my bird's eye view in the balcony, I spotted a middle-aged man waving his arms and having the time of his life in the front orchestra during the cast's performance of the Backstreet Boys' "Everybody."
I always love seeing understudies get to shine and was fortunate to have seen Tiera Lee Watts absolutely light up the stage as Anne Hathaway... no, not that Anne Hathaway.
Was & Juliet cheesy? Yes. Was it a groundbreaking piece of art? No. Was it entertaining and did it leave you walking out of the theatre smiling and fighting the urge to buy a ticket for the following evening's performance? Admittedly, yes.
If anyone reading this is also an & Juliet skeptic, I encourage you to follow my lead and take a chance on this one. But a warning -- you may not be able to get the songs out of your head for a long time.