DRAMATIS PERSONAE (in order of appearance)
Proteus … Zoe O’Brien
Speed … Talula Worth
Valentine … Ace Rosenthal
Julia … Apollo Manfredi
Lucetta … Cyrus Rose
Panthino … Jaya Rogers
Antonio … Cyrus Rose
Silvia … Dylan Macer
Launce … Arrow Hudson
Crab, the dog … Rufus Fluffy Arrow
Thurio … Cyrus Rose
The Duke … Hirshl Hickman
The Outlaws … Cyrus Rose, Hirshl Hickman, Jaya Rogers
The Host … Jaya Rogers
Glamour … Jaya Rogers
Upon our first reading of “Two Gentlemen of Verona” as a cast, two things became evident: 1) none of these people have a particularly mature, selfless, or generous view of love, and 2) Wow, does this ever feel like it could be written today!! As they say, Shakespeare wrote into the future. The relationship between Proteus and Valentine is right out of a modern day bro-mance, and Shakespeare even manages to work in his own take on the viral Man vs. Bear debate (though he substitutes a lion).
So our cast started exploring the story as a contemporary tale, set in the pre-social media days (as cellphones ruin many of Shakespeare’s plots), and worked on embracing their characters, warts and all. It’s interesting to note that, once the Duke enters and ties up all the loose ends, neither Julia nor Silvia speak again. We take that as Shakespeare giving us license to decide for ourselves how they respond to the behavior they just witnessed – do they make the right decision?
Our Players are taking on the challenge of telling this story. What can you do to support them? While you are in the performance space, please keep your phone off and give them your full attention.
But before you turn your phone off, we encourage you to click here to read a synopsis of the story.
Please note: a real live dog appears in three scenes. If you are severely allergic, we recommend that you select a seat away from the stage.
Two Gents Production Team
Julia Walker Wyson … Director
Anja Racić … Assistant Director
Jesse Waldman … Dramaturg
Sasha Santa Cruz … Stage Manager/Technical Director
Nadya Rozen-Nowac … Costumer
J. Bailey Burcham … Technical Consultant
Special Thanks to
Our seniors, Dylan Macer, Apollo Manfredi, Cyrus Rose, and Ace Rosenthal – it has been a joy to work with you for these many years, and we wish you all the very best in your next act!
Zeke and the staff of the Hudson Theatres – we feel so welcome in this space, and we deeply appreciate all your generous support!
This production is supported in part by grants from
Shakespeare Youth Festival
Julia Walker Wyson, Artistic Director
J. Bailey Burcham, Executive Director