Austin Scott to Star As & Juliet's Shakespeare; Stark Sands Sets Final Performance

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Broadway News Austin Scott to Star As & Juliet's Shakespeare; Stark Sands Sets Final Performance

The Tony-nominated musical continues its run at Broadway's Sondheim Theatre.

By Leah Putnam

July 18, 2023

Austin Scott (Hamilton, Girl From the North Country) will join Broadway's & Juliet August 8 as Shakespeare in the jukebox musical. The musical continues its run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre after earning nine Tony Award nominations earlier this year.

Tony nominee Stark Sands departs the production August 6 ahead of his next project, the Avett Brothers musical Swept Away, set to play Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage this fall. He will reprise his role from the work's 2022 world premiere at Berkeley Rep along with fellow former cast members John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening), Adrian Blake Enscoe (Dickinson), and Wayne Duvall (O Brother, Where Art Thou?).

Scott made his Broadway debut as Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton in 2019, and followed up his appearance by originating the role Joe Scott in Girl From the North Country on Broadway. He also co-starred in the Netflix feature film A Jazzman’s Blues, and can be spotted in Pose, Sistas, The Sterling Affairs, and Mr. Monk’s Last Case.

& Juliet picks up where Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ends. When Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway comes to visit him in London, she suggest that the lovestruck teenager's story shouldn't end in tragedy. What follows is a rollercoaster of laugh-inducing rewrites and a heartening journey of self-discovery.

The current cast includes 2023 Tony nominee Lorna Courtney as Juliet, 2023 Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe as Anne Hathaway, Justin David Sullivan as May, Melanie La Barrie as Angelique, Ben Jackson Walker as Romeo, Philippe Arroyo as Francois, and Tony winner Paulo Szot as Lance. Completing the company are Brandon Antonio, Michael Iván Carrier, Nico DeJesus, Nicholas Edwards, Virgil Gadson, Bobby “Pocket” Horner, Joomin Hwang, Megan Kane, Alaina Vi Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, Joe Moeller, Brittany Nicholas, Ava Noble, Kim Onah, Veronica Otim, Jasmine Rafael, Matt Raffy, Tiernan Tunnicliffe, and Rachel Webb.

The musical features a book penned by 2023 Tony nominee and Emmy winner David West Read (Schitt's Creek). With music from Grammy winner Max Martin, the score is filled with familiar pop songs from the last three decades, such as “Since U Been Gone,” “Roar,” “Baby One More Time,” “Larger Than Life,” “That’s The Way It Is,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling." The musical transferred from the West End via Toronto to open at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre November 17, 2022.

READ: How Stark Sands and Betsy Wolfe Found the Heart In & Juliet’s Pop Hits

Luke Sheppard helms the Broadway production, reuniting his full West End creative team including 2023 Tony-nominated choreographer Jennifer Weber, scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, 2023 Tony-nominated costume designer Paloma Young, 2023 Tony-nominated lighting designer Howard Hudson, 2023 Tony-nominated sound designer Gareth Owen, video and projections designer Andrzej Goulding, and hair designer J. Jared Janas. 2023 Tony nominee Bill Sherman serves as musical supervisor, orchestrator, and arranger, with 2023 Tony nominee Dominic Fallacaro as music director. Casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner.

READ: Why Stark Sands Almost Said No to & Juliet on Broadway

The Broadway run follows the musical's sold-out North American premiere at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, which also featured the Broadway production's principal cast. In the lead-up to its Broadway run, & Juliet released its first single "Roar," originally recorded by Katy Perry, ahead of the original Broadway cast recording released by Atlantic Records. The musical has already announced a multi-year North American tour that will launch in the fall of 2024.

Martin also serves as producer alongside Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Jenny Petersson, and Martin Dodd, with Eva Price serving as executive producer