←Recommendations of LADY CAPULET

A masterfully woven tale of love, betrayal, stubbornness, and misguided revenge. I love how Bell takes a very minor character from the original and makes her into a three-dimensional, messy, and captivating person. I also want to commend Bell on her use of heightened language! Writing is hard enough in "normal" English, and she is able to create understandable and beautiful dialogue. For a more in depth review, go to "A Playwright's Journey" on SubStack!

Absolutely beautiful and dare I say, more powerful than the source material? But perhaps both together make a theatrical force to be reckoned with. This would be brilliant to be produced together with ROMEO & JULIET. The source of the rage between families being love denied for status. Wonderful roles for actors, the dialogue is musical and engaging. I am in awe of this piece.

This prequel to Romeo and Juliet is SO SMART, and I enjoyed every second of it! Those who were not satisfied by the vague feud between the families Montague and Capulet will love this high-stakes backstory, in which Lady Capulet is given something even more precious than a first name—she is allowed to be a smart, cunning, capable agent of her own destiny, though her tragic end was always set in stone. The plotting is air-tight and brilliant, making the families in its iconic inspiration feel thoroughly three-dimensional. This moving piece will leave you hoping for a softer ending.

Romeo and Juliet has always fascinated me so anything that takes that story and places a new perspective on it is already onto a winner. This twist on the classic tale offers the audience an explanation into the sometimes overlooked character of Lady Capulet by creating her as an emotionally powerful female lead in this tale that proceeds to offer more insight into the classic Shakespearean tale in a brilliantly constructed way. If you're looking for a piece that mixes the classic with the new in wonderful balance then this is the play for you!

ROMEO AND JULIET is a play close to my heart. In LADY CAPULET, Melissa Bell imagines the world that created R and J, centered around Juliet's mother. Melissa imagines for us - Why the feud? Why is Lady C so invested in Tybalt ? Why is Lady C so cold to her daughter? It is smart and captivating with the huge added bonus of a complicated female lead!!! What more could one ask for???

Full disclosure: I am not a Shakespeare fan but I was RIVETED by a reading of this play (and another full disclosure: I was ten minutes late to it and worried I wouldn't be able to get into it), but it was so amazing, I got sucked right in. Okay, that was my reaction! But the writing is incredible, a brilliant prequel to Romeo and Juliet that has contemporary resonance, a kickass female lead, and that adds layers to the story we all know so well. Out of words but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Bell does a wonderful job of creating the origin story for R&J. Her use of strategy, subterfuge and deceptions are a marvelous homage to Shakespearean tragedy. Rose is a fully realized character struggling to make the most out of her limited options, a struggle that still resonates with women today. Kudos to Bell for taking Shakepeare into the present!

I had the immense pleasure of seeing this play in Central Park presented by Barefoot Shakespeare Company. I was enthralled, edified, and enchanted. Melissa's play answered questions about R&J I never even knew I had; in so doing, she opened up the play to further possibilities and managed to add depth to an already unfathomably deep world. That said, the play is a world unto itself. It is fascinating in its own right, apart from the light it sheds on our most famous tragedy. I will be reflecting on the implications of LC for a long time to come!

The original R&J always left me with so many questions, and this deliciously moving prequel answered them to my satisfaction. Rose is a beautifully multi-dimensional character--a power house of a woman any actress would be thrilled to play. Bits of the original Shakespeare text and characters are peppered throughout the plot, which is at once original and true to the story many love. A brilliant addition to any company's season!

What a wonderful achievement and exploration of past history. It hooked me early on and filled me with anticipation and excitement of how it would play out. A clever illumination of young Rose and her journey to become Lady Capulet, so many questions are asked and answered. Filled with rich language, it nods to other Shakespearean works, while proceeding to become its own unique and moving tale.