Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Makes Her Broadway Debut in ‘& Juliet’
Jackson mentioned in her application to Harvard that her ambition was to be the first black female Supreme Court justice who also performs in a Broadway show.
NEW YORK CITY—On December 14, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made her Broadway debut, dancing to a Backstreet Boys song while promoting “female empowerment.”
Her relatively short appearance took place during a performance of “& Juliet” at the Stephen Sondheim Theater in New York City. After the show, she engaged in a question-and-answer session with CBS News host Gayle King on stage.
Having earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard University, Jackson expressed to King that performing was “a dream come true.”
She also shared how she incorporated the idea of performing on Broadway into her application for the Ivy League institution. “I mentioned in my application that I wanted to attend because I believed it would help me achieve my dream of being the first black female Supreme Court Justice to grace a Broadway stage,” she told King.
With a beaming smile, Jackson appeared in a light-green Shakespearean outfit at the start of the show, where she critiqued the original narrative of “Romeo and Juliet.” During a scene involving Romeo Montague’s funeral, she portrays one of his past love interests, recalling that he used to visit her balcony. The animated Jackson even stands on Romeo’s coffin while performing and dancing to the Backstreet Boys’ song “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.”
The production features intertwining storylines of Juliet navigating her life following Romeo’s death, alongside William Shakespeare, portrayed by Drew Gehling, who wrestles with his wife over how to tell a version of the story in which Juliet moves forward after the tragic love story.
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As the show opened, Shakespeare narrated Juliet’s suicide upon finding Romeo dead in the original play. Jackson voiced her strong disapproval, stating, “I hate it.”
When Anne Hathaway, portraying Shakespeare’s wife, proposes an alternate ending in which Juliet survives because Romeo takes his own life, Jackson enthusiastically exclaimed, “Female empowerment!”
In their post-show interview, King inquired about Jackson’s “next dreams.”
“I think I just need to focus on my day job a little,” Jackson replied.
This past September, Jackson published her memoir titled “Lovely One.” On December 14, she told King that she began writing the book following her confirmation “because I felt immense gratitude, and I recognized that my success as a newly confirmed justice was not solely my own; numerous people supported me.” She expressed a desire to “honor” those individuals.
When asked by King what she hoped others would takeaway from her performance that night, Jackson responded, “I think it signifies that anything is possible.”
