WISCONSIN \u2014 Fresh off a Jimmy Awards win and a high school graduation, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada had no idea what was coming for her.<\/p>\n
She had her plans in place. Go to college at Texas State University. Become a theatre major.<\/p>\n
Then she got an audition for the leading role in the touring Broadway production of \u201c& Juliet\u201d \u2014 and she booked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so, so excited,\u201d Caraballo Quijada said, reflecting on her college plans. \u201cBut you know, plans change and the Lord takes twists and turns to our stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
The award-winning jukebox musical poses the question: what if Juliet hadn\u2019t ended it all over Romeo? It\u2019s told through familiar (but reimagined) pop anthems from artists like Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and more.<\/p>\n
Fabiola Caraballo Quijada and the company of the North American Tour of “& Juliet.” (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Caraballo Quijada describes it as \u201ctwo hours of so much fun, color, energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
She remembers being pleasantly surprised by how the musical wow\u2019d her the first time she saw it.<\/p>\n
“I was just turned on my head. I was like, well, this is incredible, not at all what I was expecting. And then I got the chance to audition, and no other character had felt so right as Juliet; like she and I are just so, so similar,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Much like Caraballo Quijada\u2019s fresh new beginning on Broadway, her character Juliet is energized to begin one of her own too. The parallels go on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m just playing myself on stage most of the time because I am just like one big ball of uncontrollable energy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The transition to full-time show life for\u00a0Caraballo Quijada hasn\u2019t been without its challenges.<\/p>\n
The company of the North American Tour of “& Juliet.” (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThis show is very, very vocally demanding. Then, at a certain point, your body starts freaking out, like, why are we doing this so often? We have to change something,\u201d Caraballo Quijada said.<\/p>\n
Vocal lessons and training have been a big help, she said, especially in the process of taking on big, iconic songs like “Since U Been Gone,” “I Kissed a Girl,” “…Baby One More Time,” and “As Long As You Love Me.”<\/p>\n
\u201cBlow,\u201d by Ke$ha, is one that sticks out to Caraballo Quijada. Set in a Parisian nightclub, the song features Caraballo Quijada flying from a chandelier.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might be my favorite musical arrangement of this musical; it just keeps the techno-like disco integrity of the actual recording song, but as its own musical theater taste, and it\u2019s just so beautiful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoar\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s My Life\u201d are a few more of Caraballo Quijada\u2019s favorites. In fact, she said she dances in the wings for \u201cIt\u2019s My Life\u201d because it\u2019s just so much fun.<\/p>\n
The costumes are another selling point. Asked how many she wears, Caraballo Quijada mutters to herself, counting them up. From a jacket to a maroon-orange ombre dress to a bedazzled war corset, each one is unique.<\/p>\n
Fabiola Caraballo Quijada in the North American Tour of “& Juliet.” (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Just like the costumes follow a journey, so do each of the characters in in this flipped script version of the famous tragedy turned comedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJuliet is just, she\u2019s young, and she\u2019s na\u00efve and she\u2019s just trying to have fun, she ends up making mistakes along the way but she learns that there are solutions to problems and things fall into place the way that they should in the end and that\u2019s destiny and it is in her own hands and no one else\u2019s,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said she hopes audiences come to the show and realize this too: that destiny can change at any moment and they have the power to mold it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can decide to start living your truth and living a life of acceptance and love and understanding,\u201d Caraballo Quijada said. \u201cIt really takes listening to others and understanding what they\u2019re going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caraballo Quijada said it\u2019s inspiring to see a show that represents so many different relationships, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a marriage that is re-conciliated on stage. We have a queer love story that is represented, which is so, so cool because not very many musicals are blasting that on the mainstream. We have female empowerment, we have father-son reconciliations \u2014 there\u2019s just, there\u2019s so much love on stage and I think it\u2019s really beautiful that it shows people that it can take many forms,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The company of the North American Tour of “& Juliet.” (Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For Caraballo Quijada, this early opportunity to pursue her dream has felt incredible. She said as an immigrant, it\u2019s empowering doing what she came here to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m showing other people that these kinds of things are possible. The hard work pays off in ways that you can never really imagine\u2026\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I do every day on stage is I try to give back to the people in the audience and show them that I am a testament to a parent\u2019s love and to bravery just in every sense because big leaps are scary and my family and I have taken leaps of faith in so, so many different ways and it\u2019s good to know that we can all have happy endings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c& Juliet\u201d heads to Appleton first, with shows at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center from June 2-7. You can get tickets for that, here.<\/a><\/p>\n