Review: & JULIET Roars Into The McCallum Theatre And It’s Nearly F**kin Perfect!

When writing a review about a campy Jukebox Musical that is way more fluff than substance one might be tempted to say “Well, it ain’t Shakespeare. But, in fact, & Juliet IS Shakespeare. The premise: What would happen if Juliet didn’t die at the end of Romeo and Juliet and instead chose to live? And does it deliver on the premise? You bet, it does. This high energy, pyrotechnic (literally) musical “pop concert” comedy starts at eighty-five decibels of hilarity and plot twist and goes up from there! 

& Juliet begins on the opening night of Shakespeare’s newest tragic play and his wife, Anne Hathaway, attends and is less than satisfied with the death of the two lovers. She negotiates co-writing a rewrite with her famous husband where Juliet decides not to kill herself, rather take a journey of self-discovery, especially upon learning at Romeo’s funeral that he has bedded at least half of Verona, male and female. What follows is a “comedy of errors” worthy of the bard that is a celebration of gender equality. self-acceptance and self-empowerment and the chance we all have to write our own second act.

The cast is outstanding – every single player. Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, just out of high school and the 2025 Jimmy Award winning for leading actress, was stellar in the role of the perky 14 year-old Juliet, from both a comedic and vocal standpoint. Without trying to invent a superlative for every other actor – because they all deserve a superlative of their own – let me just say they were all exemplary. The comic timing of the entire cast was a master class and their vocals were beyond exceptional.

The real “leading player” of the show was the technical aspects – the incredible use of projections and pyrotechnics and moving-lights and flying scenic elements and rose petals falling from the skies. In most cases they supported the actors and the story and moment. However, there were also many cases where they overshadowed the actors and the story and the moment --  What did Shakespeare say about “too much of a good thing”?

Even though the audio design of the production is meant to emulate a pop-concert in a big arena, the sound is over-processed and over-amplified to the extreme and loses what is most exhilarating about live musical theatre – the human quality of truly stellar vocalists. This cast can sing! They don’t need “reverb on steroids” to assist them! And I am a big fan of “loud”! But sometimes, in this production, loud became an understatement.

For me, the show often felt more like a theme park show than a Broadway musical – it lacked the major ingredient for me – heart! Everything was high camp and cliché – even the moments that might have been, just for a moment, genuine. That said, it was a clever, witty and high-energy roller coaster ride from beginning to end, with wonderful surprises along the way, and I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Should you go see & Juliet? An unqualified “don’t miss it”. It does what theatre does best – provides a joyous and much-needed respite from the exhausting world outside its doors. Even when I was experiencing some critical thoughts entering my head, I glanced around the theatre and saw pure joy on faces in the crowd. I was so touched watching a middle- aged Mom and her pre-teen daughter with the very same look of joy on their faces, caught up in a pop-song they both knew and both sitting on the edge of their seats. When the song was over the mom leaned over and gave her daughter a generous hug and a kiss and they both fell back in the seats having shared an exquisite moment together. And I thought, who am I to judge? So, I became less “judgy” and just enjoyed the theme park. You will too, if you allow yourself the opportunity. GO!

For Tickets visit: www.mccallumtheatre.com

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More on this show: Joey Fatone and Paulo Szot to Return to & JULIET This Summer · 6/3/2026

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