Previews: & JULIET at Straz Center

The smash jukebox musical & Juliet arrives at the Straz Center from February 10 to 15 with a burst of color, comedy, and chart‑topping pop hits. Written by David West Read, the Emmy-winning writer of Schitt’s Creek, this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told and asks what would happen if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo. The result is a fabulous, joy‑filled journey of reinvention as she claims a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love her way.

Eighteen‑year‑old Fabiola Caraballo Quijada leads the national tour as Juliet, bringing a powerhouse voice and unstoppable energy to the role. “What I find incredible about Juliet is how she has been able to turn her sorrow and her grief over losing who she thought was the love of her life and turning it into a momentum to find herself,” she says. “I want her to be wild and energetic and positive, optimistic, all of those things that were kind of repressed in that play.”

The show blends Shakespeare’s roots with a playlist of Max Martin hits that generations know by heart, from “Since U Been Gone” and “Baby One More Time” to “Larger Than Life,” “That’s The Way It Is,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” For Caraballo Quijada , one number towers above the rest. “I absolutely love performing Roar. For me, it’s like the end of my show. It’s just like one big ballad victory.”

Another nightly thrill is the high‑flying spectacle of “Blow.” “I fly up on a chandelier because I’m just having so much fun at this club and there’s lights everywhere, there’s people dancing. I’m looking over at the entire audience and I’m looking down at my castmates and it’s just a beautiful sight to see every night.”

Keeping up with Juliet’s stamina is its own adventure. “I drink a lot of water. A lot of water. I make sure to move my body as well,” she explains.

She describes the production in three words: “joy, opportunity, and life.” She believes it is especially meaningful for younger audiences discovering theater. “This jukebox musical is the perfect introduction to musical theater because it is so many songs that so many generations have grown up with. You’ll come into the theater with something that you’ll recognize.”

Touring has also given her the chance to explore each city. “I am just fulfilling my dream of going everywhere and taking the day,” she says. Landing the role was its own whirlwind. A single phone call changed her entire college plan itinerary and jolted her awake. “I hung up and thought, oh my God, what just happened?”

 Caraballo Quijada says after the curtain falls, she wants the audience to be talking about the incredible mix of music and story. “One of the words I've heard the most, the word that I definitely used when I first saw this musical, was clever. I just could not believe how this music had been integrated into the story in such a clever and unique way that you would never think, but these songs that you hear all the time on the radio mixed with these characters that some you know, some you don't, and they just come together like a match made in heaven. And it's just so incredible to see how a team could put that together.”