That’s the question Juliet asks, and answers in “& Juliet”, a feminist retelling of the classic Shakespearean tragedy. Instead of taking her own life at the end of “Romeo & Juliet”, Juliet decides to live and write her own story.

The Broadway sensation recently came to ASU Gammage from Nov. 4-9, bringing David West Reed’s retelling of the classic Shakespearean play to life. The theater was filled to the brim for opening night.

This play kicked off with William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway discussing the end of “Romeo & Juliet”, with Hathaway suggesting that Juliet should live instead of dying for love, and she finally convinces him to let her rewrite the story.

I should probably mention that Hathaway doesn’t just narrate, she fully inserts herself into the play.

After Juliet discovers Romeo is dead, her friend May, who is non-binary, and Hathaway’s character, the nurse April, advise her to move on and find love elsewhere. They decide to go on and fly to Paris to start a new life.

Here, Juliet meets her new love interest, Francois, the son of a nobleman. They bond over their shared search for identity and their desire to break free from their parents' control. Things later become chaotic though when Shakespeare steps back in, and decides to bring Romeo back to life.

Juliet has to make a choice: does she choose her old ‘love’ Romeo, or her new ‘crush’ Francois?

In the end, Juliet chooses love for herself, and that proved to be the best possible choice for her. To celebrate Juliet finding her own path, a shower of confetti fell from the ceiling.

Francois ended up finding his identity and love with May, and Shakespeare and Hathaway chose to rewrite the play together and find love with each other again.

Overall, the play employs many themes of empowerment, finding love and most importantly, self-discovery.

This play features many recognizable pop songs that viewers can listen and enjoy, including “Roar” by Katy Perry, “Shape of My Heart” by Ed Sheeran, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake and many more.

Even though “& Juliet” has departed from Gammage, you can catch any upcoming shows from their 2025-2026 Broadway season.