Critical Review at Hennepin Arts

Two brown armchairs face each other on an otherwise empty stage. One is occupied by an empathetic counselor, eager to listen. In the other sits a bitter old man who was once a king of rock. And thus, the scene is set for A Beautiful Noise . (From left) Nick Fradiani as ‘Neil - Then,’ Robert Westenberg as ‘Neil - Now’ and Lisa Reneé Pitts as ‘Doctor’ in A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical Photo credit: Jeremy Daniel The Tony-nominated 2022 musical presents the life and times of legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond. The guitar-clad performer is an imposing, prolific cornerstone of American music history, boasting 37 Top 40 Hits, a Grammy, and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A Beautiful Noise depicts a modern, retired Diamond (“Neil Now”) in therapy. He unpacks his life through a series of flashbacks beginning in the 1960s (“Neil Then”). Directed by Michael Mayer, Beautiful Noise ’s Broadway tour opened in Minneapolis on Tuesday for a nearly full house, which seeme...

  In my freshman year of ‘Honors English’, there was an infamously hard test, like nobody had gotten an A in YEARS. What was the test on, you ask? The original version of Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Who would have guessed that by junior year, I’d be watching the 2025 Broadway on Hennepin tour of & Juliet (here May 13th through 18th) and enjoy it– especially after such dreadful memories regarding its source material. Despite this, I cherished this production, as the premise is retelling the ending that had me rolling my eyes in class. By reimagining the story while still paying homage through the script, actors, and scenery– & Juliet truly surprised me with how much fun I had.  What are some famous lines when you think of Romeo & Juliet ? Mayhaps, "O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"- or maybe- “Parting is such sweet sorrow”? Within & Juliet, you’ll find many ways Max Martin and David West Read (songwriter and author, respectively) m...

Who needs Romeo when you have self-worth, a glitter cannon, and a chance to write your own ending? It’s certainly not Juliet! In David West Read and Max Martin’s & Juliet , Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is reimagined to uplift independence and femininity. The show begins at the end of the Shakespeare classic by asking the question: What if Juliet decided to not die alongside her lover and instead move on? What follows is a high energy performance that is fun all around. Although I found the jukebox format occasionally distracting and disjointed, this tour delivers a visually dynamic and unapologetically modern interpretation that is sure to be a night well spent at the theater. Overall, the whole vibe of & Juliet stood out to me. The contrast of the classical Shakespearean characters with a modern street-style production brought a new life to this iconic story. My favorite element of this production was the set design by Soutra Gilmour. The urban playground and graffiti-spla...

& Juliet , one of the newest jukebox musicals to hit the Orpheum stage, represents unoriginality at its finest. Packed full of boring pop music and cringey dialogue, I couldn’t conclude if my initial distaste was due to my crippling bias against jukebox musicals. While Act 2 somewhat shifted my mindset, it took me too much effort to even attempt to enjoy the show. It’s a pity that such an amazingly talented cast is confined to something I can only equate to what it would feel like watching a Millennial English teacher’s PowerPoint presentation. & Juliet follows William Shakespeare (Corey Mach) and his wife, Anne (Teal Wicks) as they set out to reinvent the tragedy Shakespeare envisioned. We meet a still-alive Juliet (Rachel Simone Webb) reeling from the death of her short-term lover, Romeo (Daniel J. Maldonado). Once she discovers he may not be all she thought he was- and is in fact, a pompous asshole- she ventures to Paris with her best friends. Along the way, she learns she ...

Out of all the musicals I’ve seen, I feel that & Juliet is a tough one to find my opinion on. Did it have a powerful impact that left me changed? Not really. Did it have breathtaking dancing, Oscar-worthy acting, or astounding songs? Not really. But, did I have fun? Absolutely.  I began to get a sense for the fun when it opened with a jazzy preshow, where some of the actors come onstage before the official start to dance and liven up the audience. The dancers seemed to be quite talented, and that raised my hopes for the show itself, but sadly, there was no big dance number that showed off the amount of talent in this ensemble. By that beginning, and the general hip-hop vibe of the show, I had thought that it would be a lot more dance-heavy. The dancing that was there wasn’t bad by any means; in “Blow” there was some large-scale choreography to emulate a club, and the ensemble proved to be effective backup dancers in “Problem/Can’t Feel My Face.” But if the dancing had been m...

Let me take you back to the 1500’s, to Shakespeare’s prime. But something is… different. A young woman is hanging from a chandelier and her deceased husband comes back to life. The musical & Juliet features a fun combination of silly chaos and clever chuckles as it brings the story of Romeo and Juliet from the page to the stage. But there’s a twist: What if Juliet had not killed herself? The popular jukebox musical & Juliet plays out what could have been if Juliet made a different decision after she woke up and saw that Romeo (Daniel J. Maldonado) was dead . The show kicks off with Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks), explaining that she does not want Juliet (Rachel Simone Webb) to kill herself: She longs for one of Shakespeare's romantic plays to end happily, just once. With creative outfits, impressive singing, and comedic actors, & Juliet pleases the eyes and ears as Juliet grabs the wheel to take control of her own life.       The f...