"Juliet, in the always-excellent hands of Richards, thus represented complication where Altman’s Romeo lived in simplicity. The stronger and more invested domestic life for Juliet meant she dwelled in a web of obligations and trade-offs, whereas Romeo could talk openly of making an unencumbered choice. Their balcony scene played into this beautifully; Romeo stood bathed in light under the moon, a vision of an easy choice and hope without compromise; Juliet hedged as she worked through the complications, yearning for it to just be that easy, while simultaneously roaring at the Nurse whose offstage shouts kept threatening to pull her out of the dream being offered her. The tragic arc of this production was that Juliet chose to dare to hope, to hitch herself to Romeo’s wagon and believe that it could be as simple as choosing to love someone. But Romeo’s rude awakening through Mercutio’s death left Juliet having to return to the domestic world and to those hard, compromised choices that tore her apart from everyone. Particularly as Juliet prepared herself to take the potion that would put her into her appearance of death, Richards shook with the enormity of the decision, replacing her brief sense of hope with a desperate commitment." -- Dr. Peter Kirwan, The Bardathon
"On the dramatic side, Rosemary Richards is moving and at times quite stunning as Isabella." -- Garrett Southerland, Talkin' Broadway
"Rosemary Richards’s Lizzie, in particular, tilted further than usual towards the proto-feminist with repeated insistence on her own right to happiness on her own terms, even if that meant she would never marry...Richards’s performance beautifully balanced the ironic detachment of Lizzie from the silliness around her with a quick emotional streak that lent itself both to flare-ups of anger – especially with Robert Gotschall’s restrained Darcy – and bouts of hilarity. This Lizzie was a modern heroine insistent on her own self-determination – the play ended on her embrace of Darcy on her own terms – while still enmeshed in the social conventions of her own moment." --Dr. Peter Kirwan, Come to the Pedlar
"Much more moving, though, was Rosemary Richards’s excellent Ophelia. While of a very different temperament and disposition, Ophelia was the closest thing Hamlet had to a match. She was sarcastic and funny with Laertes, mocking his pious instructions by pretending to pray...Where other characters with power in this world seemed to shy away from their authority, Ophelia claimed what she could, subtly managing her scene partners’ response to her. To this end, the nunnery scene became particularly ugly precisely because of her strength." --Dr. Peter Kirwan, The Bardathon.
"Diana, with purse over her head, could have been a ridiculous figure, but Richards’s eerie, hunched body language and firm voice cut across the humour (accompanied by Tatum’s beautiful harp-playing...)." -- Dr. Peter Kirwan, The Bardathon
"In an early scene with Rosemary Richards and Robbie Winston (as Ophelia and Laertes, respectively), the three paint a compelling and believable portrait of a loving family: the siblings bond over teasing their mother, but the affection between the three is evident. More than any other interpretation I’ve seen of these characters, I experienced the tremendous weight of their grief as the play progressed because their familiarity and joy as a family unit felt so true. This production’s positioning of Polonius as Ophelia’s mother is particularly effective, re-contextualizing their relationship and imbuing it with new depth and dimension." --Mara Guyer, Richmond Family Magazine
"Richards gave a chilling performance as she rubbed at her hands, changed tone and pitch unpredictably, and finally let out a blood-curdling cry..." -- Dr. Peter Kirwan, The Bardathon
"Actors playing multiple roles, opposite genders, and much younger characters were no distraction to the story. One performer in particular stood out to me in this respect. Rosemary Richards who played “boy”, a very important role in the play, did a remarkable job. Although a female senior in college herself, she played a young boy that joins the English on the battlefield and serves quietly beside them throughout the play. I had no trouble believing her in this role, and I thought she was adorable as the young “boy” whose death ultimately hits King Henry the hardest of all the war casualties." -- Erin Fossa, OnStage Blog