[NEohioPAL] Berko review: TWO GENTLEMENT OF VERONA @ GLTF

[Roy Berko]

GLTF’s TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA--where is Tom Hanks when we need him?

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview 
Times

--COOLCLEVELAND.COM—

In 1978, the Great Lakes Theater Festival produced TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, one 
of Shakespeare’s lesser comedies.  It may be a lesser comedy, but that season a 
young man named Tom Hanks had his first professional starring role in the show.  
His Proteus, one of the two lead roles, resulted in Hanks being selected by the 
Cleveland Critics Circles as the best actor of the year.  (I proudly cast my 
vote for him and have watched in pleasure as he became a megastar!)

Don’t go to see the present production of TWO GENTLEMEN expecting to see another 
Tom Hanks on stage, nor to see the same quality of production as was staged in 
Lakewood High School’s auditorium, then the home of GLSF.  (The theatre later 
changed its name from Shakespeare Festival to Theatre Festival in order to widen 
its offerings.)

Not that the present production is bad, it isn’t,  It’s just flat, lacking in 
the special dynamics, creativity and performance quality that make a show more 
than acceptable.  

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA is believed to be one of the Bard’s earliest works, 
probably penned around 1590.  It may well have been his first play.  Though many 
literature experts consider it to be a minor work, it does contain some devices 
that Shakespeare would later use in his other plays, including a girl dressed as 
a boy, the use of clownish servants, love conflicts that work themselves out in 
the end, infidelity, and best friends who engage in conflict.  On the other 
hand, it pales in comparison to the style and humor level of such comedies as 
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S 
DREAM, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW  and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS.

In Verona, Proteus and Valentine (the two gentleman of Verona) discuss the 
qualities of love. Valentine announces he is leaving for Milan. Valentine's 
servant reports to Proteus that Julia, his love, gave no response to his letter 
to her. At Julia's house, her servant, after some delay, gives her Proteus' 
letter. Although Julia tears it up and refuses to read it, she eventually pieces 
it together and shows her desire for Proteus.  And thus we start down a path of 
twisted tales, true and false love, lovers thwarted, lovers united, and a happy 
ever after ending.

Highlights of the GLTF production include:  Jodi Dominick and Sara Bruner who 
beautifully sang the music by Nick Drake, Ingrid Michaelson, Zion and Regina 
Spektor and played by Matthew Webb and Andrew Pongracz.  Russell Metheny’s metal 
sculpture set adds an airy feel to the goings on.  Lee Stark makes for a 
charming Julia, the beloved of Proteus.   And the audience favorite, Mojo, the 
large shaggy dog, steals every scene in which he appears.

It is surprising that Director Charles Fee, noted for his ability to dig deep 
into the humor well, restrained both M. A. Taylor (Speed) and David Anthony 
Smith (Launce), the two servants who usually are the play’s comic reliefs.  In 
the lead male roles, both Neil Brookshire (Valentine) and Paul Hurley (Proteus) 
fail to ignite the characterizations, presenting them as one dimensional beings. 
  Nika Ericson doesn’t create a clear vision of Silvia, the beloved of 
Valentine.  Eric Perusek (Eglamour) and Robert Williams ((Panthino) are 
difficult to understand and present their lines in near-monotone.  We should 
expect better from a GLTF cast.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA may not be a great Shakespearean 
script, but there have been some excellent productions of the work, including a 
local version some years ago that was an award winner.  The present TGoV misses 
the humor and creativity mark.

Side note:  An excellent ‘TEACHER PREPARATION GUIDE’ has been prepared by Daniel 
Hahn and Kelly Schaffer Florian to be used by instructors who are bringing their 
students to see the play.  They can be obtained by contacting Kelly at 
kflorian at greatlakestheater.org or by calling 216-241-5490.

For tickets to  THE TWO GENTLEMENT OF VERONA, which runs through April 23, call 
216-241-6000 or visit www.greatlakestheater.org.
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com 
and www.NeOHIOpal