The two biggest theatre hubs of the world have seen a fair number of productions grace both their stages – Back to the Future: The Musical has recently opened in New York, and A Strange Loop enjoyed a run in London following its success on Broadway, to name a few. But how does a production and the reaction to it change as it crosses the Atlantic, if at all? Last summer, I got the opportunity to visit New York and see some of the incredible Broadway talent, and one of the shows I was able to see was the Broadway production of & Juliet. This musical is special for me, in that it’s the only production (hopefully only for now) that I have seen both on Broadway and in the West End, so does the production feel different in each location?
First of all, it’s important to note that the content of the musical is identical in both shows. The staging, light and sound design, story and most importantly quality is matched in both Broadway and West End productions. This isn’t uncommon, with direct transfers sometimes keeping entire casts or creative teams (as was the case for Peter Pan Goes Wrong, and Prima Facie to name a few). An example in this case is Melanie La Barrie. She has played the role of Nurse in both the West End and Broadway productions, a role she did phenomenally well, having recently ended her Broadway run.
But now to the differences. The main visual difference I noted was the extent of promotion, as well as the style of promotion materials. In London, the Shaftesbury Theatre was adorned with huge bright pink murals, displaying quotes from the show, a soundtrack list and most strikingly, a massive logo of the show on the curved corner of the theatre, overlooking the space outside. On Broadway, the advertising on the Stephen Sondheim Theatre is more moderate, with small posters on unused doors outside the theatre, and a poster integrated into the awning over the main doors.
This isn’t unique and tends to be more common for Broadway theatres. But Broadway has an additional ace up its sleeve – the Broadway theatres are very close to the famous Times Square, with many productions (& Juliet included) having advertisements on the massive screens in New York. So, whilst the West End advertising may be more striking on the theatre itself, Broadway advertising for this show is almost certainly reaching a much wider audience. The colour schemes seem to have changed across the Atlantic as well, with the West End adopting a very bright pink theme, whilst Broadway has chosen a darker, black background and muted pinks.
Another difference that was particularly noted was the sound intensity. The sound design, as mentioned earlier, was the same in both productions, but on Broadway, it was significantly louder, despite me sitting a considerable six or seven rows closer to the stage in the West End. This only happened during musical numbers, with heavy beats and songs with a heavy amount of bass, with speaking audio remaining the same. The show was loud in London, but in New York, you could feel the floor vibrating several times throughout the show. I can only assume it was to ensure the sound reached every seat well, which is commendable, but I definitely thought there were several points where the music was just a bit intense. But likewise, there were moments during the West End production which didn’t hold the intensity they needed to, so maybe a happy medium between the productions would be just perfect.
And finally, the biggest difference I noticed and the one I was most surprised to notice, was the audience reaction, specifically to the comedic aspects of the show. & Juliet was written for, and shown to, a West End audience first and foremost, which means British humour is fused into the show. Many jokes are wordy, less in-your-face and geared towards the darker, tongue-in-cheek and more slapstick comedic audience, which meant some of the greatest laughter moments in the West End had a lesser impact across the pond. And simultaneously, some of the other comedic moments which maybe weren’t as strong in London had the American audience roaring with laughter.
At one point specifically in the second act, Anne and Shakespeare are arguing about the direction of the story, when Shakespeare gets to mention a range of common British phrases that were invented by him. But a lot of these aren’t common in the United States, which led to less of a response, especially as the joke continued. It was an interesting dynamic to see, especially considering I myself am British, which makes me wonder how many jokes from Broadway transfers have gone over my head!
Both productions of & Juliet were fantastic, and it remains one of my favourite modern musicals, and my favourite jukebox musical. Getting to see the differences is fascinating and I believe is instrumental in making West End dynamics so fundamentally different to Broadway dynamics, which helps give each theatre hub a unique place on the world theatre map.
& Juliet is currently playing at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York City. Its West End run at the Shaftesbury Theatre ended in March 2023, with a U.K. tour coming soon
