Review: In "Juliet: A Revenge Comedy," Shakespearean Women Get Out from Under the Bard's Quill

Juliet: A Revenge Comedy

Written by Pippa Mackie and Ryan Gladstone

Directed by Ryan Gladstone

Presented by Monster Theatre at SoHo Playhouse

15 Vandam St., Manhattan, NYC

February 19 - March 1, 2025

Lili Beaudoin, Carly Pokoradi, and Ryan Gladstone. Photo by Chelsey Stuyt 
Written by Pippa Mackie and Ryan Gladstone, Juliet: A Revenge Comedy explores the fantasy of female characters breaking free from the constraints of patriarchally-determined genres in order to live lives that quite literally go off-script. It is fitting that Shakespeare’s youngest heroine is the one who realizes that she doesn’t have to succumb to a tragic fate for a lover whom she has only known for two days (and whose love-making was, at least according to this production’s hilarious take on the wedding night, mediocre at best). After all, Juliet’s arc within Romeo and Juliet itself is one of increasing knowledge, both of herself and of those around her, with whom she becomes increasingly disillusioned. Juliet: A Revenge Comedy is playing as part of SoHo Playhouse’s 2025 International Fringe Encore Series running Off-Broadway through March 2.

Once Juliet breaks free from the constant loop of stabbing herself, she travels freely within and outside of her own play, able to see scenes she otherwise is not privy to (such as Romeo’s pining away for Rosaline) and gather alongside her a crew of other Shakespearean women, who likewise explore what it means to break free from their own predetermined fates. Lili Beaudoin as Juliet perfectly captures Juliet’s naivete, her growing disillusionment, and her increasing leadership over the other women. Carly Pokoradi plays all of the other parts sans Shakespeare (who is played by Ryan Gladstone). While her ability to differentiate between the various characters is superb throughout, it's especially brilliant when she plays the other Shakespearean women. Her incredible voice modulation in particular makes it clear whether she was Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Cleopatra, or Miranda, even when changes are rapid-fire or two of those characters are interacting with one another.

Shakespeare himself only appears at the beginning and the end of the play, not so much as the genius of great renown but as something of a buffoon from whom the women are able to wrest control of the pen and ultimately kill in the end. The women wonder if their creator’s death will result in their own, but they survive, able to move on to create lives of their own choosing. In the end, the play seems less a commentary on Shakespeare’s cultural status (though it is that), and more on the possibilities of female community to flip even the most entrenched patriarchal scripts.

-Stephanie Pietros

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