Award-winning musical ‘& Juliet’ will be staged in Manila, Philippines, in 2027, Full House Theater Company (FHTC) announced on July 31.
A reimagining of William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the contemporary musical seeks to answer the question: “What if Juliet didn’t die?”
The jukebox musical features songs from Swedish record producer and songwriter Max Martin, most of which are modern pop anthems, such as ‘I Want It That Way’ (Backstreet Boys), ‘…Baby One More Time’ (Britney Spears), ‘Roar’ (Katy Perry), and ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ (Justin Timberlake), among others.
& Juliet first opened at the Manchester Opera House in 2019 and made its West End transfer that same year, where it received nine Olivier Award nominations and won three awards, including Best Actress in a Musical.
It premiered on Broadway in November 2022 and was nominated for nine Tony Awards.
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‘First-ever homegrown Asian production’
In its reveal, FHTC described ‘& Juliet’ as the “first-ever homegrown Asian production”, implying that the musical will have an all-Filipino or all-Asian cast.
While the cast, creative team, and other details are yet to be announced, FHTC posted a casting call on its social media page on August 3. It includes all the main characters and ensemble.
FHTC recently staged ‘Shrek the Musical’ with an all-Filipino cast. The production recently garnered multiple accolades at the 16th Philstage Gawad Buhay Awards, the Philippine equivalent of the Tony Awards.
What if Juliet didn’t die?
Everyone knows how the original Shakespeare classic ends — both Romeo and Juliet die.
But in ‘& Juliet’, the bard’s wife, Anne Hathaway, implores him to change the tragic ending so Juliet does not kill herself.
Instead, with Romeo dead, Juliet escapes from her parents and flees to Paris with her friends April and May, and her nurse, Angelique.
The story unfolds as Shakespeare resists Hathaway’s efforts to give Juliet a happy ending.
The book for ‘& Juliet’ is written by David West Read.
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