& Juliet tour gives casting update as Broadway star joins show

A new Romeo is heading for & Juliet! 

The show, directed by Luke Sheppard, offers a twist on the classic love story, asking what might have happened if Juliet hadn’t chosen the tragic ending over Romeo. It is set to a pop-infused soundtrack featuring iconic hits penned by Max Martin, such as Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” and Katy Perry’s “Roar”.

The show revealed today: “EVERYBODY! Give a big welcome to Ben Jackson Walker, who’ll be joining us for the remainder of the UK tour as Romeo (And OMG he’s back again! Did you know Ben was the OG Romeo on Broadway?? Due to personal circumstances, Jack Danson will no longer be appearing in the UK tour of & Juliet.”

Check out the trailer below:

The Wanted band member and 2015 Strictly Come Dancing winner Jay McGuiness stars as Shakespeare. The remaining touring cast is led by Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet, Lara Denning as Anne, Sandra Marvin as Angelique, Lee Latchford-Evans as Lance, Kyle Cox as Francois and Jordan Broatch as May.

Also in the cast are Harriet Caplan-Dean as Eleanor, Alexander Kranz as Lennox, Andilé Mabhena as Augustine / dance team, Liam Morris as Richard, Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid as Lucy/Alternate Juliet, Michael Nelson as Henry, Toni Paise as Violet, Katie Ramshaw as Nell / Lady C, Rosie Singha as Judith, Aaron Shales as Gregory / dance team, Nia Stephen as Imogen and Samuel Wilson-Freeman as Fletcher / resident director and dance captain.

After its successful run at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End from 2019 to 2023 and its current Broadway residency at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, the touring production opened at Manchester’s Opera House and is now underway.

With a book by David West Read, the show has choreography by Jennifer Weber and set design by Soutra Gilmour. The musical’s tunes are crafted by Martin and his collaborators, while costume design is by Paloma Young, and musical supervision, orchestration, and arrangements by Bill Sherman.

The production also features lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Gareth Owen, video and projection design by Andrzej Goulding, hair, wig and makeup design by Suzy Barrett, musical direction, additional arrangements and orchestrations by Dominic Fallacaro, and casting direction by Stuart Burt.

The show will stop at Birmingham Hippodrome (21 April to 3 May), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (5 to 10 May), Stoke Regent (12 tto 17 May), Sheffield Lyceum (20 to 31 May), Newcastle Theatre Royal (2 to 7 June), Truro Hall for Cornwall (10 to 14 June) and Cardiff Millenium Centre (16 to 28 June).

Tickets for select venues are on sale below.