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But the stage adaptation of “Moulin Rouge!” — now on Broadway, London’s West End and on the road in North America — welcomes theatergoers back from intermission with a full-throated roar from the entire cast, dancing all out while belting hits by Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Soft Cell, the White Stripes and Eurythmics. Titled “Backstage Romance,” it’s an ensemble-wide embodiment of the 2001 movie’s maximalism aesthetic. The Times went behind the scenes of “Backstage Romance” to find out how the high-energy hit parade came to be and what it’s like to perform repeatedly at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre, where the show is playing through Sept. 4. Levine: Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” is a song that’s not in the film but is absolutely at home with the canon Baz created. I then put together songs about the painful parts of relationships — Britney Spears’ “Toxic,” Soft Cell’s [cover of] “Tainted Love,” the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) — and made this anti-romance medley. There was a lot of playing around with the keys, instrumentations and tempos of these songs in trying to see how they could fit together. ‘Moulin Rouge! The Musical’ Where: Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; through Jan. 2 Tickets: Start at $39 Info: (866) 755-2929 or via Ticketmaster, (800) 982-2787 or Ticketmaster.com Running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission) Source: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-07-08/moulin-rouge-musical-backstage-romance

Broadway Premiere of & JULIET Confirmed With Cast, Theatre, and Dates Following its Toronto engagement, & Juliet will premiere on Broadway at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre with previews starting October 28 ahead of a November 17 opening. Lorna Courtney will star as Juliet alongside Tony winner Paulo Szot as Lance, Tony nominee Stark Sands as Shakespeare, Betsy Wolfe as Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife), Justin David Sullivan as May, Melanie La Barrie as Nurse, Ben Jackson Walker as Romeo, and Philippe Arroyo as Francois, all of whom are currently starring in the Toronto production. The ensemble also features Brandon Antonio, Nico DeJesus, Nicholas Edwards, Virgil Gadson, Katy Geraghty, Bobby "Pocket" Horner, Joomin Hwang, Michael Iván Carrier, Alaina Vi Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, Joe Moeller, Brittany Nicholas, Veronica Otim, Jasmine Rafael, Matt Raffy, Tiernan Tunnicliffe, and Rachel Webb. ‍& Juliet uses some of the most beloved pop songs of the last three decades to tell a multi-generational story loosely inspired by Romeo & Juliet and Shakespeare’s life, flipping the script on the greatest love story ever told, imagining what would happen next if Juliet hadn’t ended it all over Romeo, and got a second chance at life and love on her terms. The musical features a book by David West Read, songs from Max Martin, direction by Luke Sheppar, and choreography by Jennifer Weber. The full West End creative team reunites for the Broadway production of & Juliet and includes scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, costume designer Paloma Young, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen, musical supervisor Bill Sherman, music director Dominic Fallacaro, and hair, wig, and makeup designer J. Jared Janas. U.S. casting is by Stephen Kopel and Carrie Gardner, with Eva Price as Broadway executive producer. ‍& Juliet is produced on Broadway by Max Martin, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Jenny Petersson, Martin Dodd and Eva Price. It is not a Roundabout Theatre Company production, which owns the Sondheim. Tickets for the Broadway premiere are available July 7 at 10 AM ET exclusively through TodayTix until July 13, when they go on sale at https://andjulietbroadway.com/

David Shopland and Shereen Roushbaiani's Saving Britney begins its run July 6 at Off-Broadway's SoHo Playhouse, transferring from London's Old Red Lion Theatre. The show will continue through July 30. The solo show is inspired by the #FreeBritney movement and follows millennial Jean and her journey of self-discovery through her love of Britney Spears. The nostalgia-filled play tackles celebrity obsession and ***uality. Saving Britney features performances by Shereen Roushbaiani, a script by Shopland and Roushbaiani, and direction by David Shopland. Gimme more! Additional works inspired by the Princess of Pop include the jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time, which had its world premiere in D.C. last year, and the Broadway-bound & Juliet, which began its North American premiere June 22 at Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theatre (following its West End bow) and features multiple songs by Spears, including "...Baby One More Time," "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet A Woman," "Stronger," and more. Buy Tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35583/production/1127671?performanceId=11102573

Per Deadline: Actors’ Equity is blasting an audience member who secretly videotaped Jesse Williams’ nude scene while performing in Take Me Out at the Second Stage Theater in NYC and then released it on Twitter. Equity called it an act of “***ual harassment and an appalling breach of consent.” The NYC theater, which collects audience members’ cell phones and keeps them locked away during performances, called the breach “highly objectionable,” saying it can lead to “severe legal consequences.” Williams received a Tony nomination for his role Monday, and he was trending on Twitter for much of the day. full article here :Deadline I apologize for the disrespectful and infringement of someone in this case actor Jesse Williams to have part of his body private parts to be shared online without consent.

So I've not seen "& Juliet" yet, but as an ardent Britney stan and student of Max Martin's songwriting and production methods, this feels like a must-see for me. Much as I love the songs included, I would be in favor of a shakeup of the song list with some of Max's more overlooked classics and newer hits. Personally, I'd want all of the Dr. Luke-credited songs to go, for obvious reasons, but I concede that only 6 of the 29 appear in the musical. Some of my personal recommendations would be Sam Smith's "How Do You Sleep?", Robyn's "Do You Know (What It Takes)", the oft-ignored predecessor to "Show Me Love", and this is pure pipe dream material, but I'd love to see Solid HarmoniE and Jessica Folcker songs included to help reintroduce them to new audiences. Finally, and most importantly, HOW IS THERE NO TAYLOR SWIFT SONG??? "Wildest Dreams", "Blank Space" and "...Ready For It?" would be fantastic, but my personal favorite would be "I Did Something Bad" at a pivotal moment during the musical. Now, I'm no theatre producer, nor do I plan to be, but I would like to see & Juliet explore Max's discography beyond just his big hits.