Romeo was a woman on the Concord Free Public Library lawn this summer. Sara Gluck, 21, played Shakespeare's lovestruck lead as a female-identifying member of the queer community in the Concord Players' production of "Romeo and Juliet," which ran July 24–26 and July 31–Aug. 2 across Concord and surrounding communities.

Director Mike Haddad kept the character's name and nearly all of Shakespeare's original text intact. The only change: she/her pronouns for Romeo, Benvolio and some other characters.

"I love this role so much," Gluck told The Concord Bridge in a photo essay published Tuesday, Aug. 18. "I always thought [Romeo] would make sense as a girl."

Haddad said he wanted to make a well-known show important to a modern audience while honoring Shakespeare's original words and intentions. The production layered 1980s music and clothing styles over Verona's feuding families, giving the tragedy a period edge while the cast performed outdoors at 129 Main St.

Gluck, a rising senior at Salem State University from Billerica, had never performed with the Concord Players before this production. Neither had her co-lead, Eliza Zangerl, 22, of Waltham, a 2026 Harvard graduate who played Juliet.

Both were new to the troupe.

Two Concord residents anchored the supporting cast. Ed Bernard played Friar Laurence, and Maggie Stewart, a 2026 Emerson College graduate, made her first appearance with the company in the role of Gregory.

The World's A Stage Players, the Concord Players' resident Shakespeare troupe based at 51 Walden St., has been staging productions since 2012. The group formalized its name in 2020 after years of summer Shakespeare drew growing audiences, according to the Concord Players website.

Next up: "Henry IV, Part 2," directed by Nicholas Meunier, scheduled for January 2027 in Concord.