Juliet wants to know why she can't have a happy ending.

Ophelia would settle for a happy minute.

They've waited 400 years to speak their minds and tell “the old man” what they think of their storylines. After all that time, five Shakespearean heroines get their chance in “In Juliet's Garden,” a one-act comedy by Judy McDonald. A new version of the play premieres tonight at the Waterfront Players Repertory Company in the Pony Village Mall in North Bend.

The meeting takes place at the Capulet house. As the invited guests arrive, they greet each other by identifying the production that their costumes came from.

“She had on a lovely yellow silk from Pasadena when I picked her up, but she insisted on dressing herself,” says Desdemona (Hilary Clayton) from “Othello,” explaining the curious ensemble of Ophelia (Wavey Shaver) from “Hamlet.” Ophelia may have survived drowning, but she hasn't quite recovered her wits.

While they wait, Juliet's Nurse (McDonald) pops out to assure them her mistress will be with them “anon,” prattling on about the challenges of being triple-cast in simultaneous shows at a festival.

Portia (Carolyn Agee) from “The Mercant of Venice” can't believe Juliet was the one who had the nerve to call the meeting. Katharina (Rosalia D'Amato) from “The Taming of the Shrew” eagerly wonders whether the Bard himself will show up.

“Mr. Shakespeare sees very few people these days,” says Juliet (Aubrae Hathaway), explaining that he sent a representative of his publisher, Jacqueline de Boys (Marla Taylor), to meet with them.

Katharina asks if anyone else will be coming, mentioning Hermia from “A Midsummer Night's Dream” and Lady Macbeth. Of all the Shakespearean women who might have something to complain about, it's a pretty small group in attendance - one which McDonald said is composed of her favorites.

The play was written originally as a short for a 2002 festival in Canada, of which it was one of five winners. McDonald expanded the play for a statewide competition in 2003, winning the top prize at the Oregon American Association of Community Theatre festival in McMinnville. After a request from a teacher in Connecticut, McDonald again expanded the play in recent months, providing continuous revisions to her cast - a musical number was added one week ago.

Now more than double its original length, the play is still brief at about 45 minutes. And McDonald wants to keep it short, so it's unlikely that other aggrieved heroines will appear in future versions to present their cases.

The women come seeking revisions to update their stories. Katharina wants to be spared some of her most embarrassing episodes. Ophelia, in a lucid moment, wishes Hamlet would “just for one minute reveal his true feelings.” Desdemona would like her undoing to come by something less trivial than a misplaced handkerchief.

No one is sure why Portia is there, all agreeing she has it better than any of them.

Juliet believes her story could be improved if she were allowed to wake up just a minute sooner, before Romeo kills himself.

De Boys explains that the tragedies by necessity can't have happy endings, and it wouldn't work to cut the funny parts out of a comedy. She tries to show them that their roles are more complicated than they realize and in some cases lend themselves to feminist interpretations. She hopes to convince them that their suffering serves a greater purpose - to raise the issues women face.

The show runs through Nov. 26. Performances are at 7 p.m. Fridays, at 4 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and at 2 and 4 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $5.