*NYSYC fans perpetually singing “I Want You Back” to the beloved boy band were in for a treat on Thursday, March 13, when three of the group’s biggest stars came together again at Broadway’s & Juliet.
PEOPLE was on hand at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in New York City, where Lance Bass and Chris Kirkpatrick attended the hit musical to cheer on their bandmate, Joey Fatone.
Bass and Kirkpatrick attended alongside Kirkpatrick’s wife Karly Skladany, and the couple’s 7-year-old son, Nash Dylan.
Sitting one row apart, the bandmates were quickly ushered into their seats shortly after the theater’s lights dimmed. They spent the night jamming to a selection of songs they’re all too familiar with, cheering on Fatone throughout the performance — with Kirkpatrick regularly pumping his fist in the air and, at one point, pointing to Fatone as he whispered something to his son.
The *NSYNC pair also shared some big claps during the curtain call, giving Fatone and the cast an enthusiastic standing ovation before they were escorted away to the cheers of the audience.
After the show, Bass, 45, Kirkpatrick, 53, and Fatone, 48, reunited backstage, where they posed for photos together for photographer Bruce Glikas. They got playful during the shoot, Fatone picking up Kirkpatrick at one point and Bass flashing a smile while posing with an “Love Lance” sign (a nod to Fatone’s character in the show).
“There were lots of hijinks,” an onlooker tells PEOPLE. “They acted more like brothers than friends. You could tell they have lots of history together and are extremely comfortable with one another. It was so fun to see.”
The trio also posed for pictures with the entire & Juliet cast and crew. And Fatone’s girlfriend Izabel Araujo popped into one photo, too, with Bass and the Kirkpatrick family.
“Everyone was so happy to have them there, and the guys couldn’t have been nicer and more supportive,” the source says. “There was a lot of love in the room.”
Back in January, Fatone joined the musical, replacing original Broadway cast member Paulo Szot in the role of Lance. He wraps us his run in the production on Sunday, March 16, but will be returning this summer for a run from April 22 through July 31.
This is the first musical Fatone has done in two decades away from Broadway. He made his Broadway debut as Mark Cohen in Rent in 2002, and later starred in Little Shop of Horrors as Seymour in 2003.
& Juliet imagines what would happen if the title heroine from William Shakespeare’s classic romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet would have survived and gotten to live and love as she pleased.
Directed by Luke Sheppard, the musical’s hilarious book was written by David West Read, the Emmy-winning writer from Schitt’s Creek. Its score comes from prolific producer and songwriter Max Martin. featuring songs made popular by Katy Perry (“Teenage Dream”), Britney Spears (“… Baby One More Time”), Bon Jovi (“It’s My Life”), Ariana Grande (“Break Free”), Pink (“F—ing Perfect”), Kelly Clarkson (“Since U Been Gone”), Ke$sha (“Blow”), Céline Dion (“That’s The Way It Is”), Demi Lovato (“Confident”), Robyn (“Show Me Love”) and more.
Martin’s also penned a slew of *NSYNC hits, like “I Want You Back,” “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “It’s Gonna Be Me.” But Fatone doesn’t sing any of those songs on stage, instead belting out two songs by rival boyband Backstreet Boys — “Everybody” and “Shape of My Heart.”
“Even though my loyalty remains with *NSYNC, they still have bangers,” he joked when news of his casting was announced back in October 2024.
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In & Juliet, Fatone stars alongside Maya Bod as ‘Juliet,’ Alison Luff as ‘Anne,’ Drew Gehling as ‘Shakespeare,’ Liam Pearce as ‘Romeo,’ Michael Iván Carrier as ‘May’ and Nathan Levy as ‘François.’
Gabe Amato, Daniel Assetta, Reese Britts, Nicholas Cooper, Charli D’Amelio, Jhailyn Paige Farcon, Makai Hernandez, Najah Hetsberger, Joomin Hwang, Khailah Johnson, Elsa Keefe, Alaina Ví Maderal, Daniel J. Maldonado, Alejandro MullerDahlberg, Ava Noble, Cassie Silva, Darien Van Rensalier and Romy Vuksan complete the cast.
Tickets for & Juliet are now on sale.
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