We first see Juliet in the Capulet tomb, devastated. SheB次元官网网址檚 wakes up to see her Romeo dead. But before she plunges a dagger into her heart, she starts B次元官网网址� singing. What comes out is, improbably, a Britney Spears hit.

B次元官网网址淥h, baby, baby. How was I supposed to know? That something wasnB次元官网网址檛 right here? Oh, baby, baby. I shouldnB次元官网网址檛 have let you go,B次元官网网址� she sings, the opening lines of B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址�Baby One More Time.B次元官网网址�

That such a pop song works perfectly in this august scene is a credit to playwright David West Read and the team behind the Broadway jukebox musical

TheyB次元官网网址檝e taken an original story using B次元官网网址淩omeo and JulietB次元官网网址� as a launch pad and mixed in some of the biggest pop hits of the past few decades by Spears, Celine Dion, NSYNC, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Jon Bon Jovi, The Weeknd, Justin Timberlake, Pink and Backstreet Boys.

B次元官网网址淚 really tried to let story and character drive it,B次元官网网址� says Read, an Emmy-winning writer from B次元官网网址淪chittB次元官网网址檚 Creek.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a long process to make it seem effortless, but itB次元官网网址檚 a lot of effort.B次元官网网址�

The link between the songs is Swedish super-producer Max Martin, who has had a hand in writing such hits as B次元官网网址淪ince U Been Gone,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淩oar,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淟arger Than Life,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 The Way It IsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淐anB次元官网网址檛 Stop the Feeling,B次元官网网址�

The musical starts when William ShakespeareB次元官网网址檚 wife challenges him to rewrite B次元官网网址淩omeo and JulietB次元官网网址� with a happier ending for Juliet, sparking a journey of self-discovery for the young woman and nearly everyone on stage. Inspired in part by B次元官网网址淢ama Mia!B次元官网网址� it has multiple couples of different generations.

B次元官网网址淚 think the genius of David has just knocked all of us sideways,B次元官网网址� says director Luke Sheppard. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 think Max ever imagined that somebody would be able to find such a cohesive world for this.B次元官网网址�

Read had been handed a playlist of over 200 Martin songs in 2016 and whittled it down to about 30. He challenged himself to not change any of the lyrics, although he altered some pronouns. Some hits B次元官网网址� like PerryB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淐alifornia GurlsB次元官网网址� and Maroon 5B次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淢oves Like JaggerB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� were clearly never going to fit.

B次元官网网址淚nstead of going for what are the most popular songs, I tried to prioritize what are songs that are going to tell this story in the best possible way,B次元官网网址� says Read.

Masterstrokes include turning Adam LambertB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淲hataya Want From MeB次元官网网址� into an duet between arguing lovers, giving PerryB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭eenage DreamB次元官网网址� to an older couple looking back on their young romance and handing Juliet B次元官网网址淥ops!B次元官网网址� I Did it AgainB次元官网网址� after sheB次元官网网址檚 found herself in a second romantic conundrum.

In one special move, Read gave SpearB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 Not a Girl, Not Yet a WomanB次元官网网址� to a new character, JulietB次元官网网址檚 nonbinary friend, May, played by genderqueer Justin David Sullivan. ItB次元官网网址檚 a landmark moment for Broadway, allowing a nonbinary main character to talk about being misgendered and what itB次元官网网址檚 like to date while trans.

Read also turned PerryB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淚 Kissed a GirlB次元官网网址� into a duet between May and a male love interest. B次元官网网址淚 wanted it to be a queer love song sung by two unexpected characters that feel more representative of our current world,B次元官网网址� he says. (Some audience members have walked out after that. B次元官网网址淐learly we still have a ways to go,B次元官网网址� says Read.)

There are also nods to musical theater conventions: B次元官网网址淪trongerB次元官网网址� works as a callback of B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址� Baby One More TimeB次元官网网址� (B次元官网网址淢y loneliness is killing meB次元官网网址� in the first song reappears in the second as B次元官网网址淢y loneliness ainB次元官网网址檛 killing me no moreB次元官网网址�). And musical theater rules mean you need to have a song where a lead character makes clear they want something; the creators of B次元官网网址�& JulietB次元官网网址� had one in plain sight B次元官网网址� Backstreet BoysB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淚 Want It That Way.B次元官网网址�

Read even made a connection between Martin and The Bard himself: B次元官网网址淪hakespeare was the pop writer of his time. We think of him as very highbrow now, but he was creating an entertainment for the masses. That kind of overlap between Max and Shakespeare seems like it could be a fun way to give a brand to someone who doesnB次元官网网址檛 have his own brand.B次元官网网址�

The team got an early indication that the concept would work at the first workshop in which an audience was invited. Backstage, they waited for the reaction to B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址�Baby One More Time.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he audience didnB次元官网网址檛 laugh. And that was amazing. I was like, B次元官网网址極K, passed that test,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� says Sheppard. B次元官网网址滻 felt the audience just lean in that moment and connect with that song and with that artist.B次元官网网址�

Critics have been kind to the finished show, with Variety saying B次元官网网址�& JulietB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址渋s exactly the musical Broadway needs right now: fun, exuberant, supremely joyful, hilarious and excellently performed by a talented and diverse cast.B次元官网网址� Entertainment Weekly said ReadB次元官网网址檚 work is B次元官网网址渃leverly, sometimes ingeniously calibrated to sync with the songs.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he ones that really mean a lot to me are the critics who clearly come in with a hatred for jukebox musicals and reluctantly admit that there is a lot of craft in this one,B次元官网网址� says Read.

He credits Martin for being open to outside-the-box ideas and allowing the showB次元官网网址檚 collaborators the flexibility to make whatB次元官网网址檚 not another run-of-the-mill jukebox musical.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes it feels like someone slapped their name on something, and they show up on opening night and people are maybe making the show for the wrong reasons,B次元官网网址� says Read. B次元官网网址淭o have the artist working with us and collaborating with us, I think also separates this from other jukebox musicals where the artist is either dead or not involved.B次元官网网址�

Read has since moved on B次元官网网址� he is the creator and showrunner of the upcoming Apple TV+ series B次元官网网址淭he Big Door PrizeB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� but his experience with B次元官网网址�& JulietB次元官网网址� has been so positive that he and Sheppard are working on another jukebox musical, this time with the catalog of Roy Orbison.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e trying to tell a new story with his existing music and challenging ourselves to do something completely different from what we would did with B次元官网网址�& Juliet,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� he says.

B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press