Pop star Joey Fatone had known about the development of the musical & Juliet for a long time, and was interested in doing it from the beginning. So when he got the call from producers that they were ready for him to come in to the Broadway run, it was an immediate yes. He worked to find a space in his busy schedule. "Getting back in a theatre, on the grind, it's fun!" he tells Playbill.
Fatone is stepping into the Max Martin jukebox musical for a limited run until March 16. Fatone's previous Broadway credits include Rent and Little Shop of Horrors. In & Juliet, Fatone plays Lance, who is a father and, also, a former member of a boy band. Which is something like art imitating life. He says that sharing the stage with young performers makes him think back to his early days with NSYNC.
“It’s amazing because I remember having the aspirations, the hunger, the drive. I still have the hunger and the drive, but it’s different. It’s not like I need to be somebody. As far as NSYNC, I became somebody with them, and then I did stuff on my own. I’ve done a lot of the things I’ve always dreamt about doing." He then exclaims, "Mentally, you start to go, 'Holy shit, I am that age!' I'm now taking on the father roles, which I am okay with.”
& Juliet flips the script on the William Shakespeare classic, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn’t ended it all over Romeo. Featuring a book by David West Read, the score includes a mix of tunes by pop songwriter Max Martin, including “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “I Want It That Way,” and “Confident.” It also includes songs from NSYNC, though Fatone doesn't sing those.
Above, watch Fatone discuss what he loves about the stage and what it's like, as a former NSYNC member, to sing (rival boy band) Backstreet Boys songs on the stage.
The current Broadway company of & Juliet includes Maya Boyd as Juliet, Alison Luff as Anne, Drew Gehling as Shakespeare, Liam Pearce as Romeo, Michael Iván Carrier as May, Jeannette Bayardelle as Angélique, and Nathan Levy as François.
Gabe Amato, Daniel Assetta, Reese Britts, Nicholas Cooper, Charli D’Amelio, Jhailyn Paige Farcon, Makai Hernandez, Najah Hetsberger, Joomin Hwang, Khailah Johnson, Elsa Keefe, Alaina Ví Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, Alejandro MullerDahlberg, Ava Noble, Cassie Silva, Darien Van Rensalier, and Romy Vuksan complete the cast.
The production also has direction by Luke Sheppard, choreography by Jennifer Weber, musical supervision, orchestrations, and arrangements by Bill Sherman, scenic design by Soutra Gilmour, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Gareth Owen, video projection design by Andrzej Goulding, hair, wig, and makeup design by J. Jared Janas, and musical direction and additional orchestrations by Dominic Fallacaro.
U.S. casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner.
The international hit musical, which opened at the Sondheim November 17, 2022, was the first new musical of the 2022–2023 Broadway season to announce its recoupment.
Visit AndJulietBroadway.com.