By JACKIE MOE
What if Juliet never picked up the dagger?
That’s the playful premise behind & Juliet, the hit Broadway musical making its Segerstrom Center for the Arts debut in Costa Mesa Sept. 9–21, 2025.
From the Emmy-winning writer of Schitt’s Creek and featuring the chart-topping hits of Grammy-winning songwriter Max Martin, this high-energy comedy reimagines Shakespeare’s heroine ditching her tragic ending for a bold new beginning.
With a soundtrack packed with pop favorites like “Baby One More Time,” “Roar,” “Since U Been Gone,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling!,” & Juliet is a fun jukebox musical mixed with historical and hysterical pop culture references.
Directed by Luke Sheppard and choreographed by Emmy Award-winner Jennifer Weber, the musical continues to break box office records from London’s West End to Broadway and beyond.
Taking on the role of Anne Hathaway—yes, Shakespeare’s real-life wife—is Broadway star Teal Wicks. Known for her powerhouse performances as Elphaba in Wicked, Mary Barrie in Finding Neverland, and Lady in The Cher Show, Wicks now brings wit, warmth, and a modern twist to Shakespeare’s partner-in-crime.
A UC Irvine alum, she’s especially thrilled to return to Orange County for this run.
Backstage SoCal caught up with Teal to chat about coming full circle at UCI, why Anne Hathaway’s voice feels so fresh, and the moments in & Juliet that spark the biggest energy shifts in the audience.
Q: As a UCI graduate, what does it mean to you to bring this musical to Orange County?
Teal Wicks:
It’s so exciting, really fun, and it feels very full circle. I loved my time at UCI and in Orange County. As a drama major, that’s where I was truly discovering my voice as an artist. It laid the foundation for so much of my career. The training I received there is something I’ve been building on for the past 20 years as a professional actor, which is wild to say!
UC Irvine also has this incredible program called the New York Satellite Program, which I did twice. We spent four to six weeks in New York taking classes, auditioning, and seeing as many shows as possible. I always loved the idea of New York, but living there during that program made me really fall in love with the city. It showed me I could handle it, and it gave me the confidence that I could actually pursue this dream. So UCI was very much the launchpad for the career I’ve been fortunate to have.
And now, bringing & Juliet to Orange County feels extra full circle because, when I was in college, we did a production of Romeo and Juliet with music. I was part of a girl group trio that sang in the background for a lot of the big scenes. So here I am again, back in Orange County, doing another musical inspired by Romeo and Juliet. It’s such a funny, special connection, and really, really fun.
Q: Anne Hathaway gets to be Shakespeare’s witty, opinionated partner-in-crime. What do you love most about how she’s written in this story?
Teal Wicks:
What I love most is that Anne is written as a mature woman. She’s a wife and a mother, yet she still gets to have such a strong voice and so much fun. David West Read, our writer, really gave a lot of freedom to these characters. He created space for us as actors to interpret, to play, and to bring as much of ourselves into them as possible. That’s such a gift.
I also love how playful Anne is. So often when characters in their middle age are written, they can come across as stuffy or overly serious. But that’s not real life. I know 90-year-olds who are silly, playful, and still have that youthful spirit alive in them. That’s exactly what Anne embodies: a woman who embraces her joy and humor, even as she carries the wisdom of her life experience.
And then there’s her dynamic with Will. It’s not perfect; they’re in a stage of life where they’re both in very different places emotionally and physically. In the play, they’re on a journey to rediscover each other. Not by trying to go back to who they were when they were young, and not by trying to reinvent themselves into something they’re not, but by meeting each other where they are now. They embrace who they are in this moment, and in doing so, they find a way to keep their relationship alive.
Q: What’s your favorite moment on stage in this musical where you feel the audience’s energy shift the most?
Teal Wicks:
There are a few, but I’ll give you two.
The first is in Act One, when we introduce the character of May. Up until that point, the audience is following along with characters they already know from Shakespeare’s canon; it feels like we’re still inside Romeo and Juliet. But then Anne Hathaway decides we need someone new in this play, and May enters. May is non-binary, and the show simply celebrates May as they are. There’s no big explanation needed, and it’s a beautiful moment.
You can feel the audience shift when May arrives. Even if someone doesn’t fully understand them at first, by the end of the show they do, and they love May. For non-binary audience members, it can be especially powerful. We’ve had people at the stage door share that May was pivotal for them, sometimes the very first time they felt truly represented onstage. That makes the moment incredibly special.
The second is in Act Two, when I sing That’s the Way It Is with Juliet. Up until then, Anne has been more of a storyteller, pushing the plot forward and guiding the audience. But in this song, she lets her walls down and opens up about marriage and relationships. It’s her most vulnerable moment, and it shifts the tone of the show.
Yes, & Juliet is a comedy, but here we dive into something very real: mature love, the challenges of it, the realities of what it means to stay together. It’s not just about young, star-crossed lovers anymore; it’s about love in all its complexity. You can feel the audience lean in during that moment, and it’s so fulfilling to share that with them.
Q: What do you hope your audience will bring home with them after seeing & Juliet?
Teal Wicks:
I hope they leave with love and passion for theater itself, because & Juliet is also a love letter to theater and the power of shared stories. Theater is such a special, ancient space where stage and audience come together, and I hope people walk away reminded of that magic.
I also hope they leave with full hearts; feeling empowered to forge their own story. It’s never too late to take control of your own narrative, to decide who you are, and to shape the life you want to live. If audiences carry that with them, along with joy from the music and the comedy, then we’ve done something really meaningful.
_______________________
& Juliet
Dates: September 9 – 21, 2025
Location: Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Tickets: Starting at $44.07
Online: scfta.org
About The Author
