The lights dimmed. A neon marquee crackled to life. Four men in silver-studded Elizabethan jackets strode onto the stage—and then launched into a Backstreet Boys anthem. The crowd lost it.
That iconic moment sets the tone for & Juliet, the Broadway jukebox musical that ran May 12–17 at Richmond’s Altria Theater. The premise is deceptively simple: what if Juliet didn’t die? What followed was two acts of Max Martin-penned hits—written for the likes of Katy Perry, Britney Spears, and the Backstreet Boys—woven into a story about independence, self-authorship, and the audacity to rewrite your own ending. Virginia Living‘s editorial team was there opening night, and we left wanting more.
The next day, we sat down with two people who make the show what it is.
The costumes tell the story before anyone speaks
Head costume designer Virginia Smith Phillips has spent a decade dressing traveling Broadway productions—Cabaret, Hadestown—alongside blockbusters like The Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Avengers franchise. In & Juliet, every garment is a character note. Each family crest is hand-sewn. Romeo’s leather jacket is hand-painted with roses and studded to telegraph his brooding heartthrob energy. The ’90s aesthetic runs throughout—hammer pants, puffed sleeves, ruff collars—costumes that reference Elizabethan theater while letting the cast move through demanding choreography without restriction.
The show’s central motif—Shakespeare’s quill—threads through the entire production and lands its most powerful moment in Juliet’s final dress: a golden quill sewn into the garment, marking her transformation into the author of her own life.
Backstage, keeping track of it all during lightning-fast costume changes? Detailed handoff notes passed dresser to dresser, and labels sewn into every piece.
The 19-year-old who stole the show
Fabiola Caraballo Quijada is a year out of high school, and she is playing Juliet on a national Broadway tour.
Originally from Venezuela, Fabiola moved to Texas at five and came up through competitive musical theater, winning the National High School Musical Theatre Award—the Jimmy Awards—before landing the lead of & Juliet instead of heading to Texas State University last fall. She is, in every sense, living the premise of the show she’s performing.
“Everyone is the author of their own life,” she said. “No one is allowed to tell you who you are and what you will become.”
Each night on stage, she means it.
Richmond, the season is just getting started
Altria Theater’s 2026/2027 Broadway season is already outpacing last year’s subscription numbers. Check the calendar below—and move fast.
Dirty Dancing: September 22-27, 2026
Mamma Mia: October 6-11, 2026
The Notebook: November 3-8, 2026
Hamilton: February 23 – March 7, 2027
Alicia Key’s Hell’s Kitchen: May 4-9, 2027
Just in Time: June 8-13, 2027
Buena Vista Social Club: July 20-25, 2027
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: August 17-22, 2027
This article is a Virginia Living digital exclusive.
