Shakespeare's famous star-crossed lovers will appear in Norfolk from Wednesday through Saturday, but this time, Juliet gets a second chance at a happy ending.
The Broadway show “& Juliet” revamps Renaissance wear and iconic pop hits to help answer the question: “What would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo?”
The jukebox musical begins at the end of the original story — but after Romeo’s death, Juliet decides to live and carve her own fate. The characters of William Shakespeare and his wife, Anne Hathaway, author the unfolding play within a play and are caught in a tug-of-war over Juliet’s future, until they start to lose their grip on her entirely.
Recent high school graduate Fabiola Caraballo Quijada plays Juliet, but she said she identifies so strongly with the role that she finds she’s “just being Fabiola on stage.”
“We're just so energetic and positive all the time,” Quijada said during a phone interview. “So we're always, always keeping our head up. And we're just, we're just a mess.”
Born in Venezuela, Quijada moved to Texas with her mom when she was 5. She started doing community theater and performing throughout middle and high school.
“I just feel quite full. I feel like I'm pursuing what God put me on this earth to do when I'm on the stage.”
Along with Juliet’s bubbly personality, Quijada said she relates to her desire to create her destiny.
“I didn't necessarily grow up around, you know, so many opportunities that were given to me. I kind of had to go out and look for opportunities myself,” she said.
“I am an immigrant. Like I did come here with dreams in my pocket and I looked, I searched for every open door—and every closed door, too.”
In the story, Hathaway writes herself into the plot using the name “April” and becomes Juliet’s advocate and friend.
“Anne really sees herself in Juliet. She sees Juliet as a chance of redemption,” Quijada said. And by rewriting her husband’s play, “maybe he'd be able to open his eyes and notice the pain that she's going through.”
But Shakespeare and Hathaway bicker over plot points and scheme to influence the story behind each other’s backs. Hathaway wants Juliet to have a chance for a life beyond tragic love, but Shakespeare wants to stick to tradition and maintain his reputation.
Amid this back-and-forth, Juliet steps into her autonomy while the playwrights grapple with their diminishing influence.
The staging, like the story, draws on the source material but twists it into something new, such as Elizabethan collars paired with sneakers and a blend of traditional and modern dialogue, as written by David West Reed, the writer of the popular TV show, "Schitt's Creek."
Quijada sings three decades of pop hits by artists including Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande. The songs are woven so cleverly, she forgets they weren’t written for Juliet.
The show has been touring for two years. Quijada took over as Juliet three months ago and said it has been a dream and an experience she never would have believed. When she sees the little girls in the audience so excited to see Juliet, she realizes that she’s performing for them.
“Like the core memory that ignites a spark in them that I really needed growing up,” she said. “They do have power over their own destiny. They don't need anyone to tell them or direct them towards any specific journey.
“There are so many souls everywhere that need to be uplifted and inspired,” she said, “And there's a message for absolutely everyone in the audience.”
Visit sevenvenues.com for tickets and more information.