With the casting of its ensemble, all the ladies and gents are in place for the upcoming Shakespeare in the Park production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the musical version of the classic Shakespeare comedy that will run from August 16th through September 11th.
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which boasts a book by
John Guare (Six Degrees of Separation, The House of Blue Leaves) and Mel Shapiro, lyrics by Guare and music by Galt
MacDermot, will be directed and choreographed by Kathleen Marshall (Wonderful Town, Kiss Me, Kate).
This staging, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Public
Theatre, will "reimagine" rather than reproduce the original
Tony-winning production. As produced by Joseph Papp, the musical
transferred the action from Milan and Verona to New York City and
Puerto Rico, and starred Raul Julia, Jonelle Allen and Clifton Davis (Stockard Channing and Jeff Goldblum also had parts in the show). At first, Papp's faith in the show was shaky, but he proceeded to retool the musical and it opened at the St. James Theatre on December 1st, 1971 to run for 613 performances. Nominated for Best Original Score, it won Best Book of a Musical for Guare and the Best Musical Tony, famously beating out Follies that year. Tickets
to The Two Gentlemen of Verona are free, and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.