Interview: Teal Wicks of & JULIET at Segerstrom Center For The Arts

After almost a month at The Ahmanson Theatre, the jukebox musical sensation & JULIET is heading to Orange County to give SoCal residents another chance to bask in its pop-infused Max Martin score. 

The show plays at Segerstrom Center for the Arts September 9-21.

Nominated for nine Tony Awards when it debuted on Broadway in 2023, & Juliet tells the story of Shakespeare’s Juliet—had she opted not to kill herself upon waking to see Romeo’s lifeless body. 

Far from an esoteric Shakespearean sonnet, the show employs an audience-rousing catalog of Martin’s global hits from the '90s to today to tell its tale. It’s an arsenal that includes familiar faves from Britney Spears' “Baby One More Time,” and Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and Katy Perry’s “Roar.” 

At the helm of the story is the Bard’s wife (the "original" Anne Hathaway, played by the uber-talented Teal Wicks), who sets out to rewrite the doomed tragedy to make it... a little less tragic. 

Wicks is no stranger to playing the strong female lead. She spent three years as Elphaba, first in Los Angeles and San Francisco and then on Broadway. She also played Cher in The Cher Show, Mary Barrie in “Finding Neverland”, and Emma Carew in the Broadway revival of Jekyll & Hyde. 

Wicks sat down with BroadwayWorld to talk about playing Shakespeare’s overlooked better half, how Wicked's Elphaba will never leave her, and why she’s now officially a jukebox musical convert. 

First of all, I saw & Juliet opening night at the Ahmanson and was blown away! It was so good! Also, I took my ten-year-old daughter, and she loved it just as much as I did—what a fun way to introduce her to Shakespeare.   

Thank you! And yes, we love the little ones getting in on it!

You were my favorite character. I love Juliet, of course, and really, everyone in the cast was amazing, but I especially loved your performance.

Thank you so much. We have an incredible company. We're so, so lucky. But yeah, I do love Anne. I think of her as all of my girlfriends and friends who are mamas, and all of us in our youth when we were listening to the songs at the clubs.   

That’s so funny—and true. Before doing this show, what was your relationship to Shakespeare (the genre), and how did that change while learning the role?

I’ve always loved Shakespeare. I haven't done a ton of it, but it's actually funny because my very first play, my first performance ever—I think it was in fifth grade—was Julius Caesar. I played Calpurnia, so I had one little monologue.

Do you still remember the monologue?

If I glanced at it, I would be like, ‘Yes, I remember it.’ I do remember that I thought I had to cry, but I didn't cry [laughs]. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I remember I was like, ‘This is such an important part.’ And I thought I was the star of the play for this one monologue, and I was not. But it was just such a big moment.

Did you learn anything new about Shakespeare while doing & Juliet?

Yes. He created so many phrases and so much of the lexicon that we use today. He was just very much writing for the people during his time, so he was very culturally relevant, and he knew the slang of the time. He's basically what today’s TikTok influencers are, where all of a sudden, there'll be a new phrase that everybody's saying.  

And, it’s interesting, because Max Martin—since he's been writing the biggest pop hits in the last three decades—he is, in a sense, doing what Shakespeare did.

Speaking of that, I saw your Instagram post where you schooled the public about jukebox musicals and did it in the style of “The Devil Wears Prada.” It was amazing. Did you write that yourself?

Someone wrote it for me. I am not that talented.

Paraphrase the post for people who didn't see it. 

It’s just a play on Anne Hathaway and the iconic Meryl Streep monologue schooling her on the history and importance of fashion. Before I looked into the show, I had my own preconceived notions about it being a jukebox musical. So in a way, in this video, I was talking to the old me—the old Teal— who was judgy. I was like, ‘Girl, you don’t even know.’

So how does the jukebox musical style work for this particular story?

The show is very aware of how it's presenting itself. It is taking theater as Shakespeare started it. Theater was for the people back then; it was their only real form of entertainment, and it was not elitist. It was for everybody. It was how they kept stories going, and how they talked about the politics of the time and the cultural relevance of the time.

And by doing & Juliet with pop music—with music that we all know—it's a very easy entry point for people to be like, ‘Oh, I understand. I know these songs. I can get into that.’ But underneath it is a very grounded and very real story about self-discovery and empowerment. It is very much about female empowerment. We also deal with gender identity in a very celebratory way.

Tell me about a moment in the show where you ad-lib or do something unusual—something we can look out for when we see the show. 

Oooh, yes. So my Anne loves to dance. In creating this new play with her husband, she really wants music. So I have a lot of dancey moments that are not very good. I mean, if you're coming at me from a trained dancer, you will not be impressed, but I have a few moments where I am in the corner doing a dance move. 

One of the other actors has to mirror me, and we dance together, so I switch it up a lot. I have about five different moves that are my go-to, but I sometimes try to get requests from my castmates off stage. It’s sort of an improv dance moment. Whether the creatives know it or not, they gave me that freedom, so I’m doing it. 

You spent a lot of time as Elphaba in LA and San Francisco—and on Broadway. You were even, at one point, voted “Best Elphaba!” Does she still live inside you, or has Anne Hathaway now taken over as your defining role? 

Elphaba will always be with me. I played her in three different companies for almost three years. It was my Broadway debut. It was my first big role. It was the first time I ever took on a role of that size and sort of understood what it meant to be a leading lady. So I learned a lot. I learned my weaknesses. I learned my strengths as a performer. I learned how disciplined I needed to be to get through. And I was growing a lot as a performer while I was playing Elphaba . . .  She's definitely one of the layers of foundation in my career.

She also really grew your fan base. I mean, you have a whole fan group called the “Twickies,” right?

[Laughs.] Yes, I do. 

Do they still follow your career? 

Yes. [Laughs] I've been changed for good because of Wicked. It’s a true cheesy statement. And yeah, I saw some of them in San Francisco and have seen some here in LA. I mean, I think the group has dwindled because it's been a long time. But they followed me throughout my career and I've seen them in different cities. 

That must feel good.

It's amazing. Sometimes I'm like, ‘I'm so sorry I'm not doing more.’

Oh, stop. You're doing so much! Speaking of that, do you have a favorite “pinch me” moment where you were like, ‘Wow, I can't believe this is my life.’

 I've had a lot. I think the one where I really was like, ‘I did not see this coming’ was when I was doing The Cher Show and we performed on The Tonight Show with Cher and I and the two other Chers—Stephanie J. Block and Micaela Diamond—we got to sit on the couch next to Cher and talk to Jimmy Fallon. 

Wow. That's pretty amazing.

I know. I was like, ‘I did not expect to be sitting on The Tonight Show couch and being asked questions!’

You’ve spent a lot of time in LA—both while you were in Wicked and while going to college at UC Irvine. Do you have any favorite SoCal spots? 

Oh my goodness, yes. From my college days. I am very excited to go back to Newport Beach. I lived there a few years in college, so I'm very excited to be back. And in LA. I mean, it's been such a long time since I was here. I've actually been enjoying discovering new spots. I’m staying in the Silver Lake area and am in love with wandering around this neighborhood. 

OK, I have some fun, rapid-fire questions for you. Ready?

OK, yes. 

What is the first Broadway show you ever saw?

Ragtime. The original production of Ragtime, and it was Audra McDonald and, I think, Marin Mazzie’s final performance, which I did not know at the time.  

What’s your favorite Broadway show? 

That’s mean. 

Top three?

Sweeney Todd, Hadestown, and West Side Story.

What’s your dream role? 

Actually, my dream role—well, there's no way it'll ever happen, I don’t know how it would work—but I want to be Sweeney Todd. 

Who is one person you’d be starstruck to meet? 

Greta Gerwig. I’m obsessed with her.   

Favorite comfort food after a long show? 

Cheese and crackers. 

Most memorable fan gift? 

During The Cher Show, someone made this really beautiful purse out of Cher Show playbills. And then with & Juliet, I got a crocheted Anne Hathaway doll. They said it was their first time ever making a doll like that, and she's absolutely perfect and darling.

What prop, costume, or set piece from & Juliet would you steal if you could? 

Ooh, I would absolutely steal one of my outfits. 

Which one? 

There’s this really cute green corset, green skirt, and little gray boots—I want my green corset, my green skirt, and my gray boots! Maybe the vest, too. 

Thank you so much! I loved talking with you—and I love the show!

Thank you! 

& Juliet is playing at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts September 9-21. Tickets are available here. 

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