Board member and avid reader, Tessa Bartels, also known as the Book Concierge, has some recommendations for you if, like Bloom in Juliet and Romeo, you are of a fan of the ending. See what she recommends.
So, this world premiere musical is a retelling of Shakespeare’s famous play of the teenage star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. In this new comedy musical Juliet and Romeo (January 17 - February 2 at Skylight Music Theatre), Sawyer Bloom is to direct the play, but he really doesn’t like the ending. (I won’t say why, so as not to spoil it for anyone who has never read or seen the original play or one of the many movie versions.)
If you feel the same about Will’s version, you might want to read one of the following retellings, which also have a different ending from the original.
Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray - A deliciously funny and wickedly sexy novel of love found (finally!) and love threatened (inevitably) by the families who claim to love us best. Romeo Cacciamani and Julie Roseman are rival florists in Boston, whose families have hated each other for as long as anyone can remember (what they can't remember is why).
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Albertson - When fate and tacos bring Ramón and Julieta together on the Day of the Dead, the star-crossed pair must make a choice: accept the bitter food rivalry that drives them apart or surrender to a love that consumes them.
West Side Love Story by Priscilla Oliveras - Having grown up in the nurturing household of Casa Capuleta, Mariana will do anything for familia. To solve her parents’ financial problems Mariana and her younger sisters are determined to win the Battle of the Mariachi Bands. That means competing against Hugo Montero, their father’s archnemesis, and his band and escalating a decades-old feud. It also raises the stakes of Mariana’s forbidden attraction for a certain dark-eyed mariachi who sets her heart racing.
Juliet by Anne Fortier - A young woman discovers that her family’s origins reach all the way back to literature’s greatest star-crossed lovers. Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that Rose has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key to a safety deposit box in Siena, Italy. This key sends Julie on a journey into the troubled past of her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei.
West Side Story by Irving Schulman – This is a novelization of the musical (book by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim) They came together through love but violence threatened to tear them apart. Maria was young and innocent and had never known love—until Tony. And he, who had been seeking something beyond the savagery of the streets, discovered it with her. But Maria’s brother was leader of the Sharks and Tony had once led the rival Jets. Now both gangs were claiming the same turf. Tony promised Maria that he would stay out of it. Would he be able to keep his word?
And if romance isn’t your thing, perhaps you’d enjoy this book, that focuses on the Bard HERself:
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult - Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. … In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. So, she forms a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.
Note that I have not read all of these, but if I haven't they are on my TBR (to-be-read) list!
Tessa Bartels
a/k/a Book Concierge
To learn more about the world premiere of Juliet and Romeo and Skylight Music Theatre and to grab your tickets, check out the show page.