March 4, 2026 • 22 mins
Stars from the production of "& Juliet" talk about this fun musical with contemporary music that reimagines the classic telling of "Romeo & Juliet"
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
We're back on the Emory Songer podcast feed here on.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
We thank you so much for being here talking to
all things Omaha, things that are happening in and around Omaha.
And one of the things that I absolutely love is
going to the Orpheum and seeing the amazing shows that
we have here in town. And this week it is
a show that I really didn't know what to expect,
but it was an awful lot of fun. It's called
and Juliet and we are joined by Juliet. Fabiola Carabio
(00:26):
Quihata joining us here. Fabiola, thank you for coming in.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Oh thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
And then also the role of Ann which yes, and Hathaway.
Crystal Kellogg is here with us as well. Hey Chrystal,
how's it going.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
I'm great? How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I'm good?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, all right, we got to start with the obvious
here and Juliet. Everybody's like, okay, well, if I don't
know what this is, I can guess this is Romeo
and Juliet, and it kind of is, but it's a
different idea.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Let let Fabiola as Juliet. What is this show?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah? So so and Juliet. You know, we all know
the way that Romeo and Juliette Shakespeare's you know, super
famous play. We all know the way it ends, you know,
it's kind of but Julie and and Juliet we asked
the question, what if Juliet hadn't endited it all over Romeo,
she would have you know, decided to move on and
you know, begin her new life. Yeah, without the thought
of an ex boyfriend, you know. And now she goes
(01:20):
on adventures with her friends, including and Halfaway, and you know,
she makes mistakes and she finds, she finds herself, she
finds her confidence at the end of the musical, and
you know, it's full of so much fun fun.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
The n Hathaway character is kind of the driving force
on the stage of the play, right, It's but the
music is also, I think a huge part of telling
the story, and it made this play because it's already
a fun concept. Right, It's just like we are reimagining
something we all kind of know the original text too,
but now you're installing all these super duper popular songs
(01:59):
from the last already years that I think people will
immediately pop for when they hear just the start of
the song, just like people laugh because they can recognize
the song and how it's being used in the context.
How do you describe the music, Crystal, Well, the.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Music is a part of my own upbringing as well,
so I love all the music. It was all written
by one songwriter, which is fascinating. His name is Max Martin,
which I didn't know when we started doing the show.
But it's music from all of like the late nineties,
early two thousands, but has also got music from in Sync,
(02:35):
Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, The Weekend, bon Jovi, Celine Dion,
and it really is incorporated into the story so cleverly
that once you start hearing the lyrics, you know the song,
but then it's incorporated into the story and it just
makes it so much more fun, and people you know
are singing along and they're laughing, and it just makes
(02:56):
it that much better.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I think it does because, like I said, not knowing
anything going in, and I talked to pretty much every
show people from every show that comes in. Having a
bit of knowledge, I knew I would recognize the songs.
I did not know the Max Martin element and how
many things he had co written over the years. I mean,
(03:18):
the catalog is insane, But the idea that I knew
I was just gonna have fun listening to the music
really pulled me into the story right away as well.
I'm sure when you're auditioning for a show like this, Fabiola,
especially with one of these major parts, that's got to
be part of the fun is knowing that these are
major tunes that you kind of get to reinterpret on
(03:39):
the stage every night.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah, yeah, it was really crazy. I Juliette seems to
Larbritney Spears's that we call that her love language because
she's always singing Britney Spears. And I grew up with
this music, you know, and I've always, you know, just
loved this pop element, and like Crystal said, is just
so clever the way that they put it into the music.
(04:01):
Sometimes I even forget that I am singing songs that
weren't written for Juliet Like, I feel like the way
that the circumstances happening on stage completely and perfectly match
the lyrics of the song, I'm just like, yeah, yeah,
this is just like this is a match made in heaven.
And auditioning for it was really really fun. It was
(04:23):
you know, this was one of the first times I
had ever heard this arrangement of for example, I Hit
Me Baby One More Time, which is one of the
audition songs that I brought in. I was just I
got a chance to reimagine the song in a way
that was so different from the way that Britney Spears
does it. But it gave a very unique and special
kind of trademark element to Juliet. And I was immediately
(04:45):
I knew who she was with the way that the
music was arranged, and you know the little riffs that
happened that are that are crafted in this very special way.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, I think for that character because we know it already,
like we know her, we know how our story ended originally,
and we know what love was and what love wasn't
for her and all of that.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Was that an attractive element to this show?
Speaker 1 (05:17):
What was the thing that made you attracted to the
concept of Anne Juliet beyond just the fact that these
are amazing songs you get to sing.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Yeah, Well, the first I auditioned for a Juliet after
seeing the show a couple months earlier. I saw it
in like twenty twenty four. I came in completely blind,
completely blind. I love I love it. When people say, yeah,
I came in cold, and I was like, that's the
best way to do it. I didn't know anything. I
was like, mom, it's another two box musical. I don't
want to go because, like we all have been tennis
(05:45):
over two box musicals. But I went in. I saw
the show and my mind was immediately switched. I was like, whoa,
this is mind blowing. And so I auditioned for this
musical and the first thing was, Juliet is so fun?
What the way that like the way that the words
like on the page translate into what I'm bringing into
the audition room. I was like, this is so natural,
(06:07):
this is so fun. Way can I do it again?
And well, now I get to do it every night
and it's and it's so so incredible.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I think that's the other thing, too, right, is if
you didn't already know these songs existed before, they do
fit the story.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Incredibly well, and you won't ever hear them the same again.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Well, the character is a huge part of the telling
of the story. But I think the other thing about
the and character that I appreciated was that she inserts
herself into the actual story and the play. So there's
kind of like a meta storytelling aspect going on that
you have people on the stage which are Shakespeare and
(06:48):
a Hathaway rewriting the ending to Romeo and Juliet, and
then Anne is trying to kind of control the story
and the narrative while she's actually still in the play.
That part of it has to be really fun for
you to be on the stage every night.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
So much fun, I think.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
I think for Fabula and I we probably relate to
our characters so much. So much I relate to she
An is me Julian exactly. It's so fun to play her.
There's not a lot that's known about Anne Hathaway because
it's all about Shakespeare and it's kind of what they
brought to this too. And what's so cool is that
(07:26):
Anne is the orchestrator of this storytelling. She's the one
who says, like, I don't like this ending, the one
we root right, and it's like, we don't like this.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Ending, let's change it.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
What if we flip everything on its head, And so
begrudgingly Shakespeare agrees and they get to go on this
journey together. And I think it's really fun because for Anne,
she just wants to be a part of everything, and
so she's like, yes, well I can write it now,
I've got this opportunity. Wait, all the ideas are just
coming to her head and she just gets to write
(07:59):
it and get to be in the show and get
to be a part of the story. And then I
think the other thing that's really nice about it is that,
and I think a lot of audience members can then
relate to it, is there's this other subplot of Shakespeare
and Ann's relationship and how maybe it can be a
little bit fractured and what's going to bring them back together.
(08:20):
So I love the heart that this show also has
within all of the characters, and it's just so well
written and it's really really fun to do.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I think the thing you mentioned there is there's like
the subplot of the and Shakespeare dynamic that is just
on gooing throughout. It's really not I mean this is
I don't think this is a spoiler. It's not about
the end game of Romeo and Juliet. It's about the
endgame of like eight different people on the stage the
(08:51):
entire show, and it's about what.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
The ending means to the people both on stage.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Right in the audience.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah, and it's you know, the music tells a story
because we know the songs, but it kind of kept
me guessing as to like what how we were going
to get to the ending and what the ending was
even going to look like, and like Fabiola, if you
were to kind of explain without you know, spoiling too
much of what happens on the stage, but what the
(09:19):
theme the general theme of this is it's a lot
of fun, first of all. I mean that would be
the first thing I'd say about the show. But it's
not just your traditional love story. It's it's really you know,
how would you explain the layers of you know, pursuit
but also of that freedom and personal control that you got,
(09:39):
Like every character is kind of waging a war with
themselves in throughout the show.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Yeah, And something that is so incredibly beautiful about this
musical is that there is a message for all sorts
of people. You know, we have this message of self empowerment,
like female empowerment. Towards the end of Juliette goes through,
we have a queer love story that ends in absolute
success and you know, happiness, and that's it's so important
to see that there's very few musicals going on right
(10:05):
now that have that sort of representation. So I am
personally very very proud to be in a musical that
is changing, you know, the view of what musical theater
is and what kind of stories can be told. You
have this, the story that goes on with with Shakespeare
and Anne and how they reconciliate towards the end of
(10:26):
the musical. There's a story for absolutely everyone, and that's
just so so.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Cool and it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
So much for that, and not every as Shakespeare kind
of made pretty clear, not every love story has great, happy,
fun endings, and you're just kind of let is determined.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
However, this one, this one is determined to.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Have, like you know, a good love story, and even
then you're guessing as to how it's going to finish.
But again, I have to I was walking out of
there with my wife and is like, that might be
the most fun I've had at the theater in a
really long time. And I had everything to do with
the presentation of the music more than anything else. Yes, So, Crystal,
this is probably a question that you've been asked by
(11:07):
every single person who interviews you. What is your most
fun song that you get to perform your favorite number
that you get to perform throughout the show.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
There's a couple so I love.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
One of my favorites is Domino, and it's because we
get to Anne's finally inserted herself into the story and
it's the first song that all of the friends get
to sing together, yes, and that's what starts their journey too,
and so it's so fun to just like sing and
dance with with everyone. And then the second one is
(11:39):
the big song that I get to sing, is Selene
Dion's That's the Way It Is.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Which I forgot about that song, by the way, until
you started to sing it. I was like, oh man,
that was such a massive song when I was growing
up like it just like I almost put a wave
of nostalgia on me while I was listening to you.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Singing esh Selendion is a legend. She's an incredible and
so to get to sing one of her songs is
like just an honor for me. But I think also
what I really like about it too is because the
whole the whole show is very high energy and very fun,
and it's just one bop after another after another, and
then we get to this place in act to where
(12:19):
it's just Juliet and Anne and they get to have
this like just this heart to heart, this moment where
they're supporting each other, and that's where this song comes in.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
And it's just it's so well written.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
I mean, I just keep saying that because the first
time I read this musical, I was laughing. I was
like tearing up. And the way that they've written it
is so satisfying. And I think the other thing that
I kind of wanted to say as far as the
music goes, I've had people also like say that they
didn't know the songs, and so it does, but it
(12:53):
doesn't like you don't have to know the songs to
enjoy the show. Oh for it adds an element to it.
But they're just incredible song They're just incredible songs.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
And you know, for the people who don't know a
lot of this music, first of all, like did you
just sleep through the ninety?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
But like I think the biggest part of what you
just said there is these are pretty timeless the songs themselves.
And this is why I guy like Max Martin has
like twenty nine number one songs like in his career
as a songwriter because he just knows the formula like
he's like and he found the artists that can execute
his vision on this. But like you mentioned, Britney Spears
(13:32):
is kind of a yeah. I mean, Juliette really goes
to town with Britney Spears on multiple occasions throughout the show.
Is that, like you mentioned, you auditioned with Baby one
more time? Would that be the song that Fabiola you
feel is the most fun for you to perform every
night or is there a different song in there.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
I absolutely love performing War. That's just like it's the
big Hurrah at the end of the show. You know,
It's just so visually stunning. It's so powerful too. And
one thing I was gonna add just about the music
to when you hear this music and I completely different
context with these characters, some new, some old being played
(14:10):
out on stage, you have that wave of nostalgia that
you mentioned earlier, and you think about the first time
that you ever heard this song. So I'm singing Britney Spears,
I'm like, I think I remember what the just dance
moves were to this song, and so I don't laugh
because listen, I get to turn it.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
In my head.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I haven't thought about just okay.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I got the yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah
from from Oops. I love singing Oops too. I think
that's my favorite Britney song to sing at least cause
it's just, oh my god, it's hilarious even like I
think about it now and like I wish I could,
like I think, I don't know how much money I
would pay to have my mind erased and watch the
show for the very first time and like record my
(14:49):
reaction because it would be it would be priceless. And
then I don't know, it's insane. I just I just
love what I do.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Well you Oop say that it again in the show
is way more like high energy than the interpretation of
Hit Me Baby one More Time. But that's the thing,
is like every song, even if you know the song,
you're not sure how it's going to be performed within
the story. I'll tell you the two songs that I liked,
and the first one is Romeo's entrance with bon Jovi.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
It's my life iconic. I mean, that's got to be.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
One of the coolest parts of the show, just like
the way he enters first of all, but I didn't
expect to hear a bon Jovi song in here. I
thought we were sticking with mostly like Backstreet Boys, Britney
Spears hit this kind of rock element, and I mean
the band. You can hear the band just kind of
going to town there. I yeah, let's talk about the
band for a second, because it's like there are people
(15:47):
sitting in the pit area, so it's not like a
full orchestra down there, and I don't see them anywhere
on the stage. Like watching the Neil Diamond musical you
can actually see them in the back of the stage
as they're playing or like six you know if you've
seen six that like they're on the stage see them. Yeah, Yeah,
the music's visual, but they come on to the stage
(16:08):
at the very end and get their acknowledgement.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
It's only like six or.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Seven people, Yeah, and they make a huge sound fabula.
I start with you, like, what what can you say
about the band in the arrangement of their part of
this music?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Yeah, we have an amazing band. We travel two keys,
a bass, a guitar, drums, and we include local strings
of violinists and the cellist in every city and it's
really really cool. Something that this musical does very well
is mixing so many completely different periods of time together.
(16:43):
And you can see it in our costumes. We've got
sneakers and like the Shakespearean like the frills, and you've
got so many like Renaissance elements in our closing, and
we've got like jackets, and we've got like like que
and like chains and it's so fun. And the music
does that as well too. We've got like some little
buff to like little references to two small like elements
and themes of music. But then we also got like
(17:05):
complex string arrangements over here just kind of aid to
to that like a little more classical essence of what
we're trying to bring to the table. So it's so
so unique, and the band works with us. They're in
a separate room somewhere in the theater, but they've got
monitors that they can see at the at the stage
while we're performing, and so we've got to be able to,
(17:27):
you know, like give them give our lines clearly so
then they can hear the cue. Sometimes it's a visual cue,
and we've got to like we've got to like make
sure that they can see it. But yeah, they've gotten
monitors so we can see our we can see our
music director. So sometimes when we need to we can
see his head bop and we're like, okay, there's the downbeat.
So it's really it's really really cool the way that works.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Uh, Crystal, I want your opinion on kind of the
music arrangement, especially of that song, because towards the end
of Act one and Romeo pops in. Loved the guy
Romeo by the way, he was hilarious, and then it's
really like this huge, big sound, this rock element. How
can you describe the relationship that the band and the
(18:13):
arrangement of their parts has with the performance of the songs,
especially that you have to perform knowing that it is
a bit more unique than just the records that we
had heard to be familiar with these tunes.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
What's really funny is that when I started doing the show,
now that I've now that it's like ingrained in us,
like for example, that's the way it is is actually
way more up.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Tempo when Selen Yon sings it than how I sing.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
It, And it was a surprise to me because the
way I hear it now is our arrangement. So a
lot of those things I don't even notice the difference
until I hear it and it's not how many times
you hear these songs now.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Like being played in stores.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
I'm like, oh, there's that one. So I don't really
notice the difference anymore. But the way that they have
arranged it, for example, you may not notice it, but
and I just learned this in the past couple of
months because I didn't notice it either. There's a moment
where Anne and Shakespeare are kind of facing off, and
Anne and it turns into a tango, but.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
It's actually the underscores.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Oops, I did it again, And it's so cool, like
how they did that, So just the way that they are.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
But that's I noticed that too.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Is like a lot of the kind of the backing sounds,
and even like when people are coming in and exiting
the orpheum, you're hearing these orchestral instrumentations of these pop songs,
and after a couple of like bars, you start to recognize,
like what is it? Like what is that sound? It's like, oh,
(19:50):
I know that song, Like that's what that is. It's
really cool. The other moment, and I don't know if
you guys get this reaction for this part of the
show often, but when the boys band is back and yeah,
I didn't really know where it was.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Going until they start. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
They started saying a version of Backstreets Back Yeah, and
it's five of the characters that are just really hodgepodge together.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, I mean yep.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And it is hilarious but also really really exciting and fun.
There's so much going on on the stage and there
had to been like thirty seconds of just straight applause
as soon as that was over last night. You know,
what's that moment like? Because that to me feels like
a great, like four minute encapsulation of what this show
is all about.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Yes, Unfortunately I don't get to see it because I'm
changing changing a lot.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
I'm changing a lot.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Yeah, we're both we're both backstage while that is happening.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
But we get to hear it.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
We get to hear all of it, and it is
really fun. I was gonna mention sometimes when we're out
in the wild and we hear and we hear this
song as of this. One time, I was just in
a restaurant and I hear the song going on, and
I want to say, I want to say our version
of the lyrics, and I hear a completely different one
sung by the Backstreet Boys on the wad and I'm like,
(21:06):
oh wait, no, that's not the song that I am wrong, right,
But it's just our versions are just like like in
our minds are just ingrained. But that number is just
so much fun.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
Sometimes we need so much fun.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
And again the dance rings that I mean that nostalgia
back of Yeah just it was in sync was one
of the first concerts I ever saw, and I will
never forget the moment of when they're just all on
stage and it as soon as they started, it's so satisfying.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Yeah, people just want it to happen well.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
And in the you mentioned the clothing, it's kind of
like half modern half old school. They really kind of
lean into the modern part of it and it's very cool.
And then they did the actual dance moves because I was,
you know, guilty pleasure big backstreet Boy guy. When I
was growing up, I loved that music and I would
learn all the dance moves on the videos because you know,
(21:56):
like that's what a you know, eight year old does
when they see it's something that they really like. And
they started doing the real dance moves from the music video,
and I was like, this is the best thing I've
ever seen. It is so fun you guys. I mean,
it's such a fun show. You guys are here to
the end of the weekend. Have you been Omaha before,
either of you. No, that's awesome.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
You're gonna go to the zoo tomorrow. We are.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
We're exciting the best in America.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I mean, it's a lot of steps if you want
to see everything, but.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
It's the best.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Yeah, it's the best. So enjoy Omaha. Thank you so
much for coming in and talking to us. It's a
fantastic show.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Come see us.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, and you can go and see them. You can
honestly go to ticket Omaha right now and you can
find tickets available to go see and Juliet through the
end of the weekend. Fabiola Carabaio Quihata, crystol Kellogg. Thank
you guys so much for coming in. All right, and
this is the Emery Sunger podcast feed. You can find
another one tomorrow right here on the free iHeartRadio app.
We're back on the Emory Songer podcast feed here on.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
We thank you so much for being here talking to
all things Omaha, things that are happening in and around Omaha.
And one of the things that I absolutely love is
going to the Orpheum and seeing the amazing shows that
we have here in town. And this week it is
a show that I really didn't know what to expect,
but it was an awful lot of fun. It's called
and Juliet and we are joined by Juliet. Fabiola Carabio
(00:26):
Quihata joining us here. Fabiola, thank you for coming in.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Oh thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
And then also the role of Ann which yes, and Hathaway.
Crystal Kellogg is here with us as well. Hey Chrystal,
how's it going.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
I'm great? How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I'm good?
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, all right, we got to start with the obvious
here and Juliet. Everybody's like, okay, well, if I don't
know what this is, I can guess this is Romeo
and Juliet, and it kind of is, but it's a
different idea.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Let let Fabiola as Juliet. What is this show?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah? So so and Juliet. You know, we all know
the way that Romeo and Juliette Shakespeare's you know, super
famous play. We all know the way it ends, you know,
it's kind of but Julie and and Juliet we asked
the question, what if Juliet hadn't endited it all over Romeo,
she would have you know, decided to move on and
you know, begin her new life. Yeah, without the thought
of an ex boyfriend, you know. And now she goes
(01:20):
on adventures with her friends, including and Halfaway, and you know,
she makes mistakes and she finds, she finds herself, she
finds her confidence at the end of the musical, and
you know, it's full of so much fun fun.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
The n Hathaway character is kind of the driving force
on the stage of the play, right, It's but the
music is also, I think a huge part of telling
the story, and it made this play because it's already
a fun concept. Right, It's just like we are reimagining
something we all kind of know the original text too,
but now you're installing all these super duper popular songs
(01:59):
from the last already years that I think people will
immediately pop for when they hear just the start of
the song, just like people laugh because they can recognize
the song and how it's being used in the context.
How do you describe the music, Crystal, Well, the.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Music is a part of my own upbringing as well,
so I love all the music. It was all written
by one songwriter, which is fascinating. His name is Max Martin,
which I didn't know when we started doing the show.
But it's music from all of like the late nineties,
early two thousands, but has also got music from in Sync,
(02:35):
Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, The Weekend, bon Jovi, Celine Dion,
and it really is incorporated into the story so cleverly
that once you start hearing the lyrics, you know the song,
but then it's incorporated into the story and it just
makes it so much more fun, and people you know
are singing along and they're laughing, and it just makes
(02:56):
it that much better.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I think it does because, like I said, not knowing
anything going in, and I talked to pretty much every
show people from every show that comes in. Having a
bit of knowledge, I knew I would recognize the songs.
I did not know the Max Martin element and how
many things he had co written over the years. I mean,
(03:18):
the catalog is insane, But the idea that I knew
I was just gonna have fun listening to the music
really pulled me into the story right away as well.
I'm sure when you're auditioning for a show like this, Fabiola,
especially with one of these major parts, that's got to
be part of the fun is knowing that these are
major tunes that you kind of get to reinterpret on
(03:39):
the stage every night.
Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah, yeah, it was really crazy. I Juliette seems to
Larbritney Spears's that we call that her love language because
she's always singing Britney Spears. And I grew up with
this music, you know, and I've always, you know, just
loved this pop element, and like Crystal said, is just
so clever the way that they put it into the music.
(04:01):
Sometimes I even forget that I am singing songs that
weren't written for Juliet Like, I feel like the way
that the circumstances happening on stage completely and perfectly match
the lyrics of the song, I'm just like, yeah, yeah,
this is just like this is a match made in heaven.
And auditioning for it was really really fun. It was
(04:23):
you know, this was one of the first times I
had ever heard this arrangement of for example, I Hit
Me Baby One More Time, which is one of the
audition songs that I brought in. I was just I
got a chance to reimagine the song in a way
that was so different from the way that Britney Spears
does it. But it gave a very unique and special
kind of trademark element to Juliet. And I was immediately
(04:45):
I knew who she was with the way that the
music was arranged, and you know the little riffs that
happened that are that are crafted in this very special way.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, I think for that character because we know it already,
like we know her, we know how our story ended originally,
and we know what love was and what love wasn't
for her and all of that.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Was that an attractive element to this show?
Speaker 1 (05:17):
What was the thing that made you attracted to the
concept of Anne Juliet beyond just the fact that these
are amazing songs you get to sing.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Yeah, Well, the first I auditioned for a Juliet after
seeing the show a couple months earlier. I saw it
in like twenty twenty four. I came in completely blind,
completely blind. I love I love it. When people say, yeah,
I came in cold, and I was like, that's the
best way to do it. I didn't know anything. I
was like, mom, it's another two box musical. I don't
want to go because, like we all have been tennis
(05:45):
over two box musicals. But I went in. I saw
the show and my mind was immediately switched. I was like, whoa,
this is mind blowing. And so I auditioned for this
musical and the first thing was, Juliet is so fun?
What the way that like the way that the words
like on the page translate into what I'm bringing into
the audition room. I was like, this is so natural,
(06:07):
this is so fun. Way can I do it again?
And well, now I get to do it every night
and it's and it's so so incredible.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
I think that's the other thing, too, right, is if
you didn't already know these songs existed before, they do
fit the story.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
Incredibly well, and you won't ever hear them the same again.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Well, the character is a huge part of the telling
of the story. But I think the other thing about
the and character that I appreciated was that she inserts
herself into the actual story and the play. So there's
kind of like a meta storytelling aspect going on that
you have people on the stage which are Shakespeare and
(06:48):
a Hathaway rewriting the ending to Romeo and Juliet, and
then Anne is trying to kind of control the story
and the narrative while she's actually still in the play.
That part of it has to be really fun for
you to be on the stage every night.
Speaker 4 (07:03):
So much fun, I think.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
I think for Fabula and I we probably relate to
our characters so much. So much I relate to she
An is me Julian exactly. It's so fun to play her.
There's not a lot that's known about Anne Hathaway because
it's all about Shakespeare and it's kind of what they
brought to this too. And what's so cool is that
(07:26):
Anne is the orchestrator of this storytelling. She's the one
who says, like, I don't like this ending, the one
we root right, and it's like, we don't like this.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Ending, let's change it.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
What if we flip everything on its head, And so
begrudgingly Shakespeare agrees and they get to go on this
journey together. And I think it's really fun because for Anne,
she just wants to be a part of everything, and
so she's like, yes, well I can write it now,
I've got this opportunity. Wait, all the ideas are just
coming to her head and she just gets to write
(07:59):
it and get to be in the show and get
to be a part of the story. And then I
think the other thing that's really nice about it is that,
and I think a lot of audience members can then
relate to it, is there's this other subplot of Shakespeare
and Ann's relationship and how maybe it can be a
little bit fractured and what's going to bring them back together.
(08:20):
So I love the heart that this show also has
within all of the characters, and it's just so well
written and it's really really fun to do.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
I think the thing you mentioned there is there's like
the subplot of the and Shakespeare dynamic that is just
on gooing throughout. It's really not I mean this is
I don't think this is a spoiler. It's not about
the end game of Romeo and Juliet. It's about the
endgame of like eight different people on the stage the
(08:51):
entire show, and it's about what.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
The ending means to the people both on stage.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Right in the audience.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Yeah, and it's you know, the music tells a story
because we know the songs, but it kind of kept
me guessing as to like what how we were going
to get to the ending and what the ending was
even going to look like, and like Fabiola, if you
were to kind of explain without you know, spoiling too
much of what happens on the stage, but what the
(09:19):
theme the general theme of this is it's a lot
of fun, first of all. I mean that would be
the first thing I'd say about the show. But it's
not just your traditional love story. It's it's really you know,
how would you explain the layers of you know, pursuit
but also of that freedom and personal control that you got,
(09:39):
Like every character is kind of waging a war with
themselves in throughout the show.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Yeah, And something that is so incredibly beautiful about this
musical is that there is a message for all sorts
of people. You know, we have this message of self empowerment,
like female empowerment. Towards the end of Juliette goes through,
we have a queer love story that ends in absolute
success and you know, happiness, and that's it's so important
to see that there's very few musicals going on right
(10:05):
now that have that sort of representation. So I am
personally very very proud to be in a musical that
is changing, you know, the view of what musical theater
is and what kind of stories can be told. You
have this, the story that goes on with with Shakespeare
and Anne and how they reconciliate towards the end of
(10:26):
the musical. There's a story for absolutely everyone, and that's
just so so.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Cool and it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
So much for that, and not every as Shakespeare kind
of made pretty clear, not every love story has great, happy,
fun endings, and you're just kind of let is determined.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
However, this one, this one is determined to.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Have, like you know, a good love story, and even
then you're guessing as to how it's going to finish.
But again, I have to I was walking out of
there with my wife and is like, that might be
the most fun I've had at the theater in a
really long time. And I had everything to do with
the presentation of the music more than anything else. Yes, So, Crystal,
this is probably a question that you've been asked by
(11:07):
every single person who interviews you. What is your most
fun song that you get to perform your favorite number
that you get to perform throughout the show.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
There's a couple so I love.
Speaker 5 (11:19):
One of my favorites is Domino, and it's because we
get to Anne's finally inserted herself into the story and
it's the first song that all of the friends get
to sing together, yes, and that's what starts their journey too,
and so it's so fun to just like sing and
dance with with everyone. And then the second one is
(11:39):
the big song that I get to sing, is Selene
Dion's That's the Way It Is.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Which I forgot about that song, by the way, until
you started to sing it. I was like, oh man,
that was such a massive song when I was growing
up like it just like I almost put a wave
of nostalgia on me while I was listening to you.
Speaker 5 (11:56):
Singing esh Selendion is a legend. She's an incredible and
so to get to sing one of her songs is
like just an honor for me. But I think also
what I really like about it too is because the
whole the whole show is very high energy and very fun,
and it's just one bop after another after another, and
then we get to this place in act to where
(12:19):
it's just Juliet and Anne and they get to have
this like just this heart to heart, this moment where
they're supporting each other, and that's where this song comes in.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
And it's just it's so well written.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
I mean, I just keep saying that because the first
time I read this musical, I was laughing. I was
like tearing up. And the way that they've written it
is so satisfying. And I think the other thing that
I kind of wanted to say as far as the
music goes, I've had people also like say that they
didn't know the songs, and so it does, but it
(12:53):
doesn't like you don't have to know the songs to
enjoy the show. Oh for it adds an element to it.
But they're just incredible song They're just incredible songs.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
And you know, for the people who don't know a
lot of this music, first of all, like did you
just sleep through the ninety?
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (13:10):
But like I think the biggest part of what you
just said there is these are pretty timeless the songs themselves.
And this is why I guy like Max Martin has
like twenty nine number one songs like in his career
as a songwriter because he just knows the formula like
he's like and he found the artists that can execute
his vision on this. But like you mentioned, Britney Spears
(13:32):
is kind of a yeah. I mean, Juliette really goes
to town with Britney Spears on multiple occasions throughout the show.
Is that, like you mentioned, you auditioned with Baby one
more time? Would that be the song that Fabiola you
feel is the most fun for you to perform every
night or is there a different song in there.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
I absolutely love performing War. That's just like it's the
big Hurrah at the end of the show. You know,
It's just so visually stunning. It's so powerful too. And
one thing I was gonna add just about the music
to when you hear this music and I completely different
context with these characters, some new, some old being played
(14:10):
out on stage, you have that wave of nostalgia that
you mentioned earlier, and you think about the first time
that you ever heard this song. So I'm singing Britney Spears,
I'm like, I think I remember what the just dance
moves were to this song, and so I don't laugh
because listen, I get to turn it.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
In my head.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I haven't thought about just okay.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
I got the yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah
from from Oops. I love singing Oops too. I think
that's my favorite Britney song to sing at least cause
it's just, oh my god, it's hilarious even like I
think about it now and like I wish I could,
like I think, I don't know how much money I
would pay to have my mind erased and watch the
show for the very first time and like record my
(14:49):
reaction because it would be it would be priceless. And
then I don't know, it's insane. I just I just
love what I do.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Well you Oop say that it again in the show
is way more like high energy than the interpretation of
Hit Me Baby one More Time. But that's the thing,
is like every song, even if you know the song,
you're not sure how it's going to be performed within
the story. I'll tell you the two songs that I liked,
and the first one is Romeo's entrance with bon Jovi.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
It's my life iconic. I mean, that's got to be.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
One of the coolest parts of the show, just like
the way he enters first of all, but I didn't
expect to hear a bon Jovi song in here. I
thought we were sticking with mostly like Backstreet Boys, Britney
Spears hit this kind of rock element, and I mean
the band. You can hear the band just kind of
going to town there. I yeah, let's talk about the
band for a second, because it's like there are people
(15:47):
sitting in the pit area, so it's not like a
full orchestra down there, and I don't see them anywhere
on the stage. Like watching the Neil Diamond musical you
can actually see them in the back of the stage
as they're playing or like six you know if you've
seen six that like they're on the stage see them. Yeah, Yeah,
the music's visual, but they come on to the stage
(16:08):
at the very end and get their acknowledgement.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
It's only like six or.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Seven people, Yeah, and they make a huge sound fabula.
I start with you, like, what what can you say
about the band in the arrangement of their part of
this music?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Yeah, we have an amazing band. We travel two keys,
a bass, a guitar, drums, and we include local strings
of violinists and the cellist in every city and it's
really really cool. Something that this musical does very well
is mixing so many completely different periods of time together.
(16:43):
And you can see it in our costumes. We've got
sneakers and like the Shakespearean like the frills, and you've
got so many like Renaissance elements in our closing, and
we've got like jackets, and we've got like like que
and like chains and it's so fun. And the music
does that as well too. We've got like some little
buff to like little references to two small like elements
and themes of music. But then we also got like
(17:05):
complex string arrangements over here just kind of aid to
to that like a little more classical essence of what
we're trying to bring to the table. So it's so
so unique, and the band works with us. They're in
a separate room somewhere in the theater, but they've got
monitors that they can see at the at the stage
while we're performing, and so we've got to be able to,
(17:27):
you know, like give them give our lines clearly so
then they can hear the cue. Sometimes it's a visual cue,
and we've got to like we've got to like make
sure that they can see it. But yeah, they've gotten
monitors so we can see our we can see our
music director. So sometimes when we need to we can
see his head bop and we're like, okay, there's the downbeat.
So it's really it's really really cool the way that works.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
Uh, Crystal, I want your opinion on kind of the
music arrangement, especially of that song, because towards the end
of Act one and Romeo pops in. Loved the guy
Romeo by the way, he was hilarious, and then it's
really like this huge, big sound, this rock element. How
can you describe the relationship that the band and the
(18:13):
arrangement of their parts has with the performance of the songs,
especially that you have to perform knowing that it is
a bit more unique than just the records that we
had heard to be familiar with these tunes.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
What's really funny is that when I started doing the show,
now that I've now that it's like ingrained in us,
like for example, that's the way it is is actually
way more up.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Tempo when Selen Yon sings it than how I sing.
Speaker 5 (18:38):
It, And it was a surprise to me because the
way I hear it now is our arrangement. So a
lot of those things I don't even notice the difference
until I hear it and it's not how many times
you hear these songs now.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Like being played in stores.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
I'm like, oh, there's that one. So I don't really
notice the difference anymore. But the way that they have
arranged it, for example, you may not notice it, but
and I just learned this in the past couple of
months because I didn't notice it either. There's a moment
where Anne and Shakespeare are kind of facing off, and
Anne and it turns into a tango, but.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
It's actually the underscores.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Oops, I did it again, And it's so cool, like
how they did that, So just the way that they are.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
But that's I noticed that too.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Is like a lot of the kind of the backing sounds,
and even like when people are coming in and exiting
the orpheum, you're hearing these orchestral instrumentations of these pop songs,
and after a couple of like bars, you start to recognize,
like what is it? Like what is that sound? It's like, oh,
(19:50):
I know that song, Like that's what that is. It's
really cool. The other moment, and I don't know if
you guys get this reaction for this part of the
show often, but when the boys band is back and yeah,
I didn't really know where it was.
Speaker 2 (20:05):
Going until they start. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
They started saying a version of Backstreets Back Yeah, and
it's five of the characters that are just really hodgepodge together.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Yeah, I mean yep.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
And it is hilarious but also really really exciting and fun.
There's so much going on on the stage and there
had to been like thirty seconds of just straight applause
as soon as that was over last night. You know,
what's that moment like? Because that to me feels like
a great, like four minute encapsulation of what this show
is all about.
Speaker 5 (20:36):
Yes, Unfortunately I don't get to see it because I'm
changing changing a lot.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
I'm changing a lot.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Yeah, we're both we're both backstage while that is happening.
Speaker 4 (20:44):
But we get to hear it.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
We get to hear all of it, and it is
really fun. I was gonna mention sometimes when we're out
in the wild and we hear and we hear this
song as of this. One time, I was just in
a restaurant and I hear the song going on, and
I want to say, I want to say our version
of the lyrics, and I hear a completely different one
sung by the Backstreet Boys on the wad and I'm like,
(21:06):
oh wait, no, that's not the song that I am wrong, right,
But it's just our versions are just like like in
our minds are just ingrained. But that number is just
so much fun.
Speaker 4 (21:16):
Sometimes we need so much fun.
Speaker 5 (21:17):
And again the dance rings that I mean that nostalgia
back of Yeah just it was in sync was one
of the first concerts I ever saw, and I will
never forget the moment of when they're just all on
stage and it as soon as they started, it's so satisfying.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
Yeah, people just want it to happen well.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
And in the you mentioned the clothing, it's kind of
like half modern half old school. They really kind of
lean into the modern part of it and it's very cool.
And then they did the actual dance moves because I was,
you know, guilty pleasure big backstreet Boy guy. When I
was growing up, I loved that music and I would
learn all the dance moves on the videos because you know,
(21:56):
like that's what a you know, eight year old does
when they see it's something that they really like. And
they started doing the real dance moves from the music video,
and I was like, this is the best thing I've
ever seen. It is so fun you guys. I mean,
it's such a fun show. You guys are here to
the end of the weekend. Have you been Omaha before,
either of you. No, that's awesome.
Speaker 4 (22:15):
You're gonna go to the zoo tomorrow. We are.
Speaker 2 (22:17):
We're exciting the best in America.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
I mean, it's a lot of steps if you want
to see everything, but.
Speaker 3 (22:25):
It's the best.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Yeah, it's the best. So enjoy Omaha. Thank you so
much for coming in and talking to us. It's a
fantastic show.
Speaker 4 (22:33):
Come see us.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah, and you can go and see them. You can
honestly go to ticket Omaha right now and you can
find tickets available to go see and Juliet through the
end of the weekend. Fabiola Carabaio Quihata, crystol Kellogg. Thank
you guys so much for coming in. All right, and
this is the Emery Sunger podcast feed. You can find
another one tomorrow right here on the free iHeartRadio app.
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