Emily Chackerian — Theater Critic

Unfortunately, the modern twist unnecessarily complicates and feels almost incompatible with Shakespeare’s text. There is little to the production that explains precisely why Romeo and Juliet are starcrossed, or where the animosity between their families arises from, especially because it is only Tybalt who seems to genuinely dislike Romeo.

Now playing Off-Broadway at Studio Seaview, Bubba Weiler’s Well, I’ll Let You Go is a poignant play about loss, cloaked in mystery and structured like a detective procedural: A guest stops by Maggie’s house; she makes them coffee as they offer condolences and reveal new information about Marv, then leave. A narrator (Matthew Maher) interrupts the repetition to offer further backstory, creating a slow drip that stays one step ahead of the audience.

Blackout Songs also delivers moments of brightness. Lee is particularly magnetic, playing Her with a sharp blend of wit and vulnerability. The gaps between memories/scenes feel cavernous, though the physical transitions themselves are smart and sleek, thanks in large part to lighting design by Stacey DeRosier and staging by director Rory McGregor and movement consultant Sarah Parker.

Bell’s book and lyrics often struggle to reflect the seductive eeriness of its source material, with lines that feel overly literal or dependent on the rhyme scheme. The simplicity distracts from a story that relies on ambiguity; how can we accept the mystery of the vanishing girls when so many other plot points are stated directly to the audience?