{"id":119571,"date":"2026-01-15T19:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/119571\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T19:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:33:09","slug":"juliet-at-straz-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/119571\/","title":{"rendered":"& JULIET at Straz Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ud83c\udfad NEW! Tampa Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get all the top news & discounts for Tampa & beyond.\n <\/p>\n

\t\t \"Previews:
\nPhoto by Evan Zimmerman for Murphymade <\/p>\n

The smash jukebox musical & Juliet arrives at the Straz Center from February 10 to 15 with a burst of color, comedy, and chart\u2011topping pop hits. Written by David West Read<\/a>, the Emmy-winning writer of Schitt\u2019s Creek, this hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told and asks what would happen if Juliet didn\u2019t end it all over Romeo. The result is a fabulous, joy\u2011filled journey of reinvention as she claims a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love her way.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfad NEW! Tampa Theatre Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get all the top news & discounts for Tampa & beyond.\n <\/p>\n

Eighteen\u2011year\u2011old Fabiola Caraballo Quijada leads the national tour as Juliet, bringing a powerhouse voice and unstoppable energy to the role. \u201cWhat 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,\u201d she says. \u201cI want her to be wild and energetic and positive, optimistic, all of those things that were kind of repressed in that play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show blends Shakespeare\u2019s roots with a playlist of Max Martin<\/a> hits that generations know by heart, from \u201cSince U Been Gone\u201d and \u201cBaby One More Time\u201d to \u201cLarger Than Life,\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s The Way It Is,\u201d and \u201cCan\u2019t Stop the Feeling.\u201d For Caraballo Quijada , one number towers above the rest. \u201cI absolutely love performing Roar. For me, it\u2019s like the end of my show. It\u2019s just like one big ballad victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another nightly thrill is the high\u2011flying spectacle of \u201cBlow.\u201d \u201cI fly up on a chandelier because I\u2019m just having so much fun at this club and there\u2019s lights everywhere, there\u2019s people dancing. I\u2019m looking over at the entire audience and I\u2019m looking down at my castmates and it\u2019s just a beautiful sight to see every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping up with Juliet\u2019s stamina is its own adventure. \u201cI drink a lot of water. A lot of water. I make sure to move my body as well,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

She describes the production in three words: \u201cjoy, opportunity, and life.\u201d She believes it is especially meaningful for younger audiences discovering theater. \u201cThis jukebox musical is the perfect introduction to musical theater because it is so many songs that so many generations have grown up with. You\u2019ll come into the theater with something that you\u2019ll recognize.\u201d<\/p>\n

Touring has also given her the chance to explore each city. \u201cI am just fulfilling my dream of going everywhere and taking the day,\u201d she says. Landing the role was its own whirlwind. A single phone call changed her entire college plan itinerary and jolted her awake. \u201cI hung up and thought, oh my God, what just happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0Caraballo Quijada says after the curtain falls, she wants the audience to be talking about the incredible mix of music and story. \u201cOne 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

&Juliet is February 10-15 at the Straz Center. Learn more and buy tickets at https:\/\/www.strazcenter.org\/events\/2526-season\/broadway\/juliet.<\/p>\n

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