& Juliet is on stage at Walton Arts Center this week with performances through Sunday afternoon. The musical, which includes pop songs made famous by Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson and the Backstreet Boys, imagines what might have been for Juliet if she hadn't taken her own life in that tomb.
For this national touring production, Fabiola Caraballo Quijada is Juliet. Just over a year ago, she was in high school in Tyler, Texas. Three consecutive years, she was a participant in the Jimmy Awards in New York City — an all-star gathering of some of the most talented high school performers who come from regional contests, like the Diamond Awards, just held in Fayetteville. Last year, just after graduating from high school, Fabiola was cast in & Juliet. I spoke with her this morning in the Anthony and Susan Hui News Studio. I asked her if the last 12 months of her life have been as much a whirlwind as it seems when you read her resume on paper.
Caraballo Quijada: Absolutely, absolutely. And more. I think about it now and I'm like, wow, I graduated high school almost a year ago now. On my bio, it says that I'm like 18 — I'm 19 now. Time goes on, but it's been really crazy slash fun. I won a Jimmy Award about a month after graduating, which was crazy. And very shortly after that I was in & Juliet.
Kellams: First national tour. What's that like?
Caraballo Quijada: It's so much fun. It's actually something that I didn't ever think that I would love so, so much. I've always loved to travel. I grew up in a little tiny town in Texas, and I always wanted to go out and see what's out there. My first time in New York City was life-changing. I was like, can I keep doing this? And now I get to do it for a living. I'm seeing all these different places and meeting great people, so I'm having so much fun.
Kellams: You are one of the most well-known characters in the English language — Juliet. But you get to explore a Juliet that I think almost everyone who's read or seen the standard play has wanted to know: what would be her life afterward? And it's empowering.
Caraballo Quijada: Yes, totally. Juliet, at least here in her new life, is in charge of her decisions and the trajectory of her life without Romeo. She gets to come into her own. She gets to be the girl that she never really got the chance to be. Now she's just laying it all out on the table. She's one energetic, positive ball of sunshine and she's just down to go on adventures and make mistakes, because at the end of the day, you are still the same person and you're effing perfect — which is a little hint from the show if you come see it.
Kellams: And of course, the music in the show is familiar.
Caraballo Quijada: It's incredible. I am so, so proud to be in this show just because this music is amazing, and the way that the music is embedded into our story and our characters — it's literally flawless. We have Kelly Clarkson, we have Britney Spears, we have the Backstreet Boys, we have Katy Perry. We've got 30 years of music in this musical, new characters, old characters. It's really fun that we get to put this mix of stories all together into one big, beautiful creation.
Kellams: The songs are — and I'm going to be a 63-year-old guy who shouldn't be using this term, but — they're bangers.
Caraballo Quijada: You're so right. And that's why they're in our musical. You're going to recognize these songs and you're going to be like — it's beautiful. First you hear the song and you've got this wave of nostalgia, like, oh my gosh, I remember the first time that I heard that song, or there's a specific memory linked to it. And then you see it played out on stage in a completely different context. Worlds are colliding in this moment and you're like, I can't keep my eyes off the stage. That's what's really sick about this musical.
Kellams: You mentioned you grew up in Tyler, Texas. That's not that small.
Caraballo Quijada: We've been growing. I call it like an island, because it's far enough away from all the other big Texas cities. You gotta pack a couple bags and sandwiches and Ziploc bags to hop on the highway.
Kellams: So do you think you have something in common with Juliet? Fair Verona wasn't that big, right? There does seem to be a yearning from Juliet. Do you identify?
Caraballo Quijada: Oh, absolutely. The first couple minutes of the show, when Juliet comes on stage, she's like, I'm tired of this. And now she's like, let's go do something new, let's go to Paris — which is her idea. She's coming up with these ideas and she wants to take ownership of her own adventure. She starts off small and goes big. The first time I went to New York, I was like, yeah, this is great. I feel like that's exactly what Juliet's going through. She's just big smiles all around.
Kellams: You are relatively close to Juliet's age.
Caraballo Quijada: In the original play, she was 13, going on 14.
Kellams: Any of us who've been 13 or 14 know that things that seem big at that time, upon reflection, are not as important. And if this is too heavy, we don't have to talk about this — but Juliet makes a choice at the end of the play that is permanent. I think & Juliet gives audiences a glimpse that you don't have to make a permanent decision, that there's more out there. Do you think about that?
Caraballo Quijada: Yes, I do think about that a lot. This musical just really lets people know that your life can change at any moment and it can go in any direction. You don't necessarily have to know what that is. Just little by little, every decision that you make is setting you up for the next one. Just keep your mind open to the fact that the world is so big and we'll never really know all that's out there. But you will find your place. Just because you don't know one day doesn't mean that you won't know the next.
Kellams: You mentioned that you won a Jimmy Award. Just last weekend, Walton Arts Center hosted the Diamond Awards, which select two people to go to the Jimmys. For people who are unclear — after you won and advanced to the Jimmys from Tyler, Texas, what was that experience in New York City like?
Caraballo Quijada: That was really, really crazy. The first year I ever went to the Jimmys was 2023 and my mind was just blown. I'd never been to New York City. It was always a dream, and my life literally changed after that. I decided, OK, this is what I'm going to do with my life. I'm going to be a performer and I'm going to go to college for it and everything. Well, spoiler alert, we didn't get to college, but we're still doing it. We're doing the thing. I also went to the Jimmys in 2024 and 2025, which is when I got to take home the prize to my whole town, to my school, to my parents and my family and friends. It's crazy to see how my humble beginnings in this town, and all of the people that were there that really helped me out — they now get to see their little friend shine. I get to trace it all the way back and be like, hey, this is where I grew up, and these are the people that helped me. They will always be in my heart, a part of my journey. You can never forget where you're from.
Kellams: Don't you think there might be someone listening who is a young person interested in performing — they live in Poteau, Oklahoma, or Joplin, or Eureka Springs?
Caraballo Quijada: Literally anything's possible. You gotta take advantage of every single opportunity that comes at you. There might be people that you meet — don't lose their contact, don't forget their face. It's going to be like an organization or a place that you're going to feel helps you grow. It's going to make you feel like, yeah, I belong here. Stick to those people, stick to those things. Don't ever give up — which is so cliche, but it's literally what has gotten me here. I have always been a hard, hard worker. I just don't allow myself to back down, ever. That's why I'm here today. Just keeping every door open, knocking on every door. Even if it don't open, that's OK. It's a door that you can say, I knocked on that door — because not every person gets the chance to say that.
Fabiola Caraballo Quijada is Juliet in the national touring production of & Juliet at Walton Arts Center, on stage through Sunday afternoon. Our conversation took place at the Carver Center for Public Radio this morning.
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