The Atlanta Shakespeare Company at The New American Shakespeare Tavern Presents The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Now that we have completed Shakespeare's entire canon, we're starting over by producing The Comedies in the order in which they were written! Get on board right from the start with these shows, we'll have you rolling in the aisles all season!

The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Directed by Laura Cole
$12 Preview Thurs Aug 4
$15 Preview Fri Aug 5
Performances August 6-14, Sept 15, 18, 24, 30
Join us for the first comedy Shakespeare ever wrote. Watch and laugh as close friends Valentine and Proteus both pursue the Duke of Milan's beautiful daughter, Sylvia. See how Crab, "the sourest-natured dog that lives", provides one of the first examples of the animal stealing the show. Don't miss this rarely produced comedy.
A part of The Shakespeare Evolution Series
Join the cast and crew members for a lively Question and Answer session on Sunday August 14 after the show!

Cast/Crew
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Directed by Laura Cole
Production Stage Manager Cindy Kearns*
Assistant Stage Manager Deborah McGriff*
Costume Designer Anné Carole Butler
Music by Clarke Weigle
Light Designer Mary Ruth Ralston

Dramatis Personae
Valentine, a Gentleman from Verona - Kenneth Wigley
Proteus, a Gentleman from Verona - JoNathan Horne
Speed, a servant to Valentine - Matt Felten
Julia, a lady of Verona loved by Proteus - Amee Vyas*
Lucetta, Julia's waiting-woman - Becky Cormier Finch
Antonio, father to Proteus - Doug Kaye*
Panthino, a servant to Antonio - Troy Willis*
Silvia, the Duke's daughter, loved by Valentine - Kati Grace Morton
Launce, a servant to Proteus - Daniel Parvis
Thurio, a foolish rival to Valentine - Matt Nitchie
Duke of Milan, father to Silvia - Doug Kaye*
Host of Julia in Milan - Troy Willis*
Sir Eglamour, a Knight and agent for Silvia in her escape - Matt Felten
Outlaws - Troy Willis*, Becky Cormier Finch, Clarke Weigle, Daniel Parvis
Musicians - Doug Kaye*, Daniel Parvis, Becky Cormier Finch, Clarke Weigle

The Two Gentlemen of Verona Synopsis
From The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare by J C Trewin
Valentine, seeking to be "tutor'd in the world," goes with his servant Speed from Verona to Milan, saying goodbye to his friend Proteus. Presently, Proteus, enamored to Julia (as she is of him), is also ordered by his father to leave for Milan. There Valentine falls in love with the Duke's daughter, Silvia; when Proteus arrives they tell him that because the Duke prefers a wealthier suitor, Thurio, they propose to elope.

Proteus, himself infatuated with Silvia, informs the Duke who finds a rope ladder under Valentine's cloak and banishes him. He becomes the leader of a highly selective band of outlaws. Julia, who has followed Proteus disguised as a boy, hears Thurio's musicians serenading Silvia with a song. Proteus is listening and after Thurio has gone, he proclaims his love, which Silvia scorns, asking Sir Eglamour to conduct her to Valentine. Proteus, taking the disguised Julia ("Sebastian") as his page, sends a message to Silvia who again rejects him.

The Duke pursues his escaping daughter and is captured by outlaws while she is rescued by Proteus. The watching Valentine attacks his treachery, then for a moment becomes all too magnanimous by giving up Silvia to him. Julia/Sebastian, swooning, reveals herself, the outlaws bring in the Duke who pardons them, and there is a correct pairing off.
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More about The Shakespeare Evolution Series:
By Kristin Hall
What does a theater company do after reaching its 26-year goal?

The Atlanta Shakespeare Company faced that question this past Spring when, having opened Edward III, it became the first company in America to have performed all 39 plays currently attributed to Shakespeare. After 26 years of producing Shakespeare's work the company had finally completed his Canon and now found itself asking the question, "Now what?"

"Well naturally, we knew we'd start working our way back through the Canon again," says Artistic Director Jeff Watkins, "but we wanted to do it in a special way."

That desire to re-trace all of the Bard's work in a unique way gave birth to the company's upcoming Shakespeare Evolution Series, a multi-year project scheduled to begin in August 2011. By producing all of Shakespeare's plays in the order scholars believe that he composed them, the company will provide a chance for audiences to trace the development of his dramatic craft. Basing its order on the most recent edition of the Oxford Complete Works of William Shakespeare, the series will kick off with The Two Gentlemen of Verona on August 4.

The Shakespeare Evolution Series in its current form contains three or four phases based on play genre, rather than simply working its way through Shakespeare's plays one by one. First up the company will perform all of Shakespeare's comedies in their order of composition, moving then to the tragedies to trace how the Bard's tragic style developed, next showing how he combined both styles in his late ‘tragicomic' romances (including The Tempest) and hopefully, if scheduling and finances allow, eventually ending with an extravaganza of Shakespeare's history plays. But this ordering system doesn't mean that audiences will have to cry through the entire second round after laughing through the first. The company hopes to sprinkle plays from different genres alongside each production-for instance, giving audiences a few chances to see the comedy As You Like It, supposedly written the same year as the tragedy Julius Caesar, during the tragedy's run.

Watkins views this second trip through the Canon as a great learning opportunity for his long-term artistic ensemble as well as the company's audience. He considers the company "much more informed" as a whole after completing the entire Shakespearean Canon, and predicts that performing the plays in order will inspire ensemble members to do "even more in-depth research on what was happening in during certain years of Shakespeare's career, especially when we start juxtaposing the tragedies with the comedies."

The project will also give this year-round acting troupe, including many actors who have worked together for more than 15 years, a chance to build on their already considerable experience with Shakespeare's work. "It should be a good opportunity for our actors to play new roles as well as roles they've played for us in the past," Watkins says, "and it allows new directors in our ensemble to approach some of these plays for the first time."

Of course the Artistic Director is quick to point out that the series makes business sense as well. Thanks in part to the company's interactive ‘original practice' performance style and the celebratory ambience of their performance space, the New American Shakespeare Tavern, comedies have always been the company's most financially successful shows and the biggest draw for new audiences. A series that places comedies alongside tragedies doesn't just aid audiences in tracing Shakespeare's writing style-it also allows the company to perform crowd favorites for new audiences concurrent with the heavier titles.

Mainly, however, the Shakespeare Evolution Series provides an adventuresome and unprecedented structure for the company's next few years of performance. It seems a fitting new goal after becoming the first American company to complete the 39-play Canon. Or, as Watkins puts it: "At this rate we might have worked our way back through the whole Canon again in five years. That has to be another record of some kind, right?"

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

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Performance days & times:
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 6:30 PM.

Ticket Prices:

Seating areas: Main Floor Seats, Box Seats (on floor) and Balcony Seats

Regular Ticket Prices:

Thurs night:
Main: $24
Box: $20
Balcony: $15

Friday night:
Main: $32
Box: $26
Balcony: $22

Saturday night:
Main: $36
Box: $30
Balcony: $24

Sunday night:
Main: $28
Box: $22
Balcony: $15

An 8% sales tax is added on top of all purchases made at The Shakespeare Tavern.

Discount Ticket Options: $12 tickets for Thursday Previews, $15 for Friday Previews (unless otherwise noted).

Student/Educator prices: $5 off per price level per night except in the Balcony on Thursdays and Sundays. Not valid on Saturday nights.

$3 off for Military, Seniors, Groups of 10 or more, except in the Balcony on Thursdays and Sundays. Promotional discount offers are not valid closing weekend of a performance.

Purchase Tickets Online for most performances at www.shakespearetavern.com

 

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