& Juliet’s Kathryn Allison Dishes on Shakespeare, Pop Music, and Life After Romeo

You know the story. Romeo and Juliet, two young, star-crossed lovers forbidden to be together, would rather die than be kept apart. And so, they do. But…what if they didn’t?

This is not Shakespeare’s tragic love story. & Juliet, one of Broadway’s hottest shows, flips the script on the classic tale and answers the question – what would happen if Juliet hadn’t ended her life over Romeo after all?

Not only does & Juliet showcase a new perspective on a classic story, but it also features a high-energy soundtrack, with re-imagined pop songs from groups and singers like Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Bon Jovi, and more. Lucky for us, we’ll get to witness this fresh take on an old-world tale from February 10-15 at the Straz Center.

One of the main characters of the show is Angelique, Juliet’s nurse. While Angelique’s role is pretty quiet in the original Shakespeare version, in & Juliet, it’s anything but. Angelique is a support system for Juliet and has a story and love life of her own that the audience gets to discover. We caught up with Kathryn Allison, who plays Angelique and is on her second year with the production, to learn all about the show and what makes it so unique.

TBPM: This is not Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Tell us what this new concept is all about.

Kathryn: & Juliet is about what would happen if Juliet didn't end it all after Romeo and instead went on this fabulous adventure with her friends and decided to find a new lease on love and life, and what it means to be authentic. And what if she did her life her way? And, you know, in it, I think there's also a lot of themes of relationships and love and being yourself and how do you write your own story and that you can change your story at any time, which I think is one of the most inspiring messages to me and to audience members around the US.

TBPM: Tell us about Angelique.

Kathryn: Angelique is so awesome. I think what's special about her is that she is the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. If you remember reading the script in high school, the things about the nurse that people love are that she's bawdy, she's raunchy, she has this undying care and love for Juliet, and she makes sure that she's always safe and has the best things in life. And all of those things are still true.

In the play, we don't know what her life was like before she met Juliet. We don't even know what her name is. So the fact that she gets a name, we learn who she is, and that she had a whole life before Juliet. She had a love affair, which gets rekindled in the musical that you get to see with my scene partner, Paul Jordan Jansen.

TBPM: Are there any new characters that aren't seen in the original? 

Kathryn: We have some new characters. We have Will Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway. Will Shakespeare, you know, wrote the show, and Anne Hathaway is his wife. So, they're kind of rewriting the story together, which I think is really exciting. We get to see her perspective as well.

And then we have a few other characters. Mae, who is a queer non-binary character, is one of Juliet's best friends, and they go on this adventure together, which is really lovely. They fall in love with a character named Frankie, who is the son of the character that I fall in love with in the show, named Lance. So there are a couple of new characters, but they are all super fun and just really help this theme of authenticity and choosing yourself and rewriting one's own story to find happiness in this world that we've created.

TBPM: What age group do you think this show would best speak to?

Kathryn: Probably eight and up. I think what's so brilliant about the show is that it has Max Martin's music, who’s written for some the most amazing artists of all time – Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys. So, the scope of work expands over three decades, there are three generations of music that I think really span all of these generations.

And I think there's really something for everyone to love and remember. I think my favorite part of this show is hearing the audience every night. Songs will start, and they'll be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this song! I remember where I was when I first heard it!’

And then they see how David West read kind of weaved these brilliant songs with this script. It’s so clever and funny how they helped move the plot along, which I think is what makes & Juliet so special, and so appealing to so many different ages and groups of people.

TBPM: Do you have a favorite number in the show?

Kathryn: Oh my gosh, that's hard! I mean, I shamelessly love singing ‘Oops, I Did it Again’ because I remember when that music video came out. And the fact that I get to sing that every night, and how it's presented, I just think is so brilliant. And then also, I love watching ‘It's My Life,’ which is a Bon Jovi song. It closes Act One. And I just think with the lighting, and like the dancing, and the choreography, and how it's all put together, it's epic. It feels like you're actually at a rock concert, which I think is so rare to see in a musical. So yeah, it's really, really fun.

TBPM: If someone doesn't know the storyline of the original Romeo and Juliet, will it still be easy for them to follow this musical?

Kathryn: Yes, absolutely. What's so great is that at the beginning of the show, William Shakespeare sets up what the plot of Romeo and Juliet is. And then that's how we kind of shift into the journey. His wife is like, ‘Can we try something different? So, we do a really good job of setting up the context of not only the play, but the journey that we're about to take as well.

TBPM: What is the biggest overall theme you think the younger generation can take away from this show?

Kathryn: Oh, that's such a great question. I think what I love about Juliet in this version, and I guess in the play as well, is that I feel like she is so not afraid to explore and figure out what's right for her. Even that means if she makes a mistake, or she might take a wrong turn, she's always like, ‘OK, let me reground myself and figure out what I really want, and try again.’ And I think that's something that, at least for me as a young person, was really hard for me. I didn't want to make a mistake, because then people would think about me like that.

I didn't want people to think that I was a mess-up or something. Whereas you have to make mistakes. That's how you grow in life. That's how you learn. And you figure out what you really want. And by the end of the show, she's made all of these decisions.

Some are right, some are wrong. Because of all of those decisions that she's made, at the end, she figures out what she really wants. And I think, for me, that's like the main takeaway for young people that you can make all of these decisions, and at the end, you will figure out what's right for you. So don't be afraid to take a wrong turn, and get back to it, and let that lead you back to what you really want. It's a great message.

Details:

When: February 10-15, 2026. Showtimes vary.

Where: Straz Center, 1010 MacInnes Pl, Tampa, FL 33602

Tickets: strazcenter.org

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