Fiasco Theater’s
The Two
Gentlemen of Verona
Theatre for a New Audience
April 25, & May 7, 2015
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| Photo courtesy of Fiasco Theatre |
Deirdre: After seeing many Shakespearean tragedies over
the last year, I looked forward to watching one of his comedies. I enjoyed a recent performance of Hamlet
and A Winter's Tale considerably more than The Two
Gentlemen of Verona. Considering the
script, this contemporary performance adds both another dimension and depth to
the play via props, costumes, set design, and lighting that helps the audience
view the play in a contemporary manner instead of fostering nostalgia for the
Elizabethan era.
Domenick: The breakdown of the script and the
consolidation of the cast to a solid, strong ensemble of six actors created a
flowing, comprehensive, and pleasant two hours.
The directors, Jessie Austrian and Ben Steinfeld, clearly have a strong
knowledge of Shakespeare and insight into the story lines and themes of this
comic love story. They found the heart
of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and
interpreted it with delight and care.
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| Photo courtesy of Fiasco Theater |
Synopsis (from
Deirdre): Shakespeare's
The Two Gentlemen of Verona, a romantic comedy and purportedly
Shakespeare's first play, is the story of love, friendship, and betrayal. Valentine is in love with the lovely Sylvia;
his best friend from Childhood, Proteus, is in love with Julia. Proteus, upon
meeting Sylvia at the Duke's Court immediately surreptitiously professes his
love for her, although he heretofore professed his love for Julia. Proteus is aware that he is betraying his best
friend but he decides to woo Sylvia in spite of behaving duplicitously. Sylvia, however, has been betrothed to Thurio,
a suitor for whom she has no interest. Julia
disguises herself as a man, so that she can reunite with Proteus. She eavesdrops on Proteus's conversations to
find out information about Proteus and Silvia. Valentine is banished by Silvia's father, the
Duke, preventing his love for Silvia from prospering. During his banishment, he continues to pine
for Sylvia, as Proteus desires to plot and scheme to get Sylvia. In the end, Proteus and Julia salvage their
relationship and profess their love; Similarly, Valentine and Sylvia, with the
blessing of her father, join together in love, as he realizes that Thurio does
not have the depth of character as Valentine.
Deirdre: This fine youthful ensemble cast adds to the
success of the play. When one thinks of
marriage, youthfulness is usually apparent. Many of the characters play multiple roles
that allow us to see the professional skill of the actors playing varied and
distinguished characters. Before the
play starts, the cast is on stage jovially playing with each other and engaging
in conversations about the lighting and how they will look on stage. It
is obvious that they all work well together.
Domenick: I agree.
The
ensemble was fabulous. They were
skillful and fun and worked together seamlessly bringing joy and passion to
every moment.
Deirdre: Zachary Fine plays both Valentine and Crab, the
dog. His emotions are somewhat
melodramatic especially when he is banished and he is not able to see his
beloved Sylvia. That scene seems to be cloying with extreme
sentimentality. The love that he has for her is affective to the extent that
the audience feels his emotions, which move us to empathy.
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Zachary Fine as Crab & Andy Grotelueschen as Launce
Photo courtesy of Fiasco Theater |
Domenick: The characterization and interactions of
Crab, the dog, were fun and charming. Mentioning
this first by no means takes away from Zachary Fine’s performance in his
primary role of Valentine. The scenes with
Crab added just the right amount of fun and frivolity to the mood of the
production.
Deirdre: Noah Brody, as Proteus, illustrated the
character well for we see how Proteus is a cad because he allows us to see his
own reflective thoughts aptly about his dishonorable actions.
Domenick: Jessie Austrian was charming and feisty
as Julia. Her ability to color and shade
her monologues with tactics that clarified the text and engaged the audience
was skillful and entertaining.
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Emily Young as Sylvia & Jessie Austrian as Julia
Photo courtesy of Fiasco Theater |
Deirdre: Emily Young is adorable as Sylvia. Her
pulchritude is evident. We can see why
Valentine loves her and why Proteus has fallen for her as well. She is lovely
with her beautiful white dress (symbolizing her purity) and exquisite beauty. The deep love that Valentine and Sylvia have
for each other is evident and can be seen through the great chemistry that is
depicted throughout the play. The
characters exhibit great emotion when their reflection, passion, and despair
are all needed to match the events in the play.
Domenick: Andy Grotelueschen played three roles
(Launce, the Duke, and Antonia). The
differentiation of his roles was clear and sharp. His Antonio was especially witty and
charming.
Deirdre: The set, designed by Derek McLane, is not
elaborate but its simplicity adds to its simple elegance.
Domenick: I agree.
I found it whimsical, light, and fun.
It was sheets of paper, crumpled and flat, in a mosaic collogue along
the upstage, stage right, and stage left walls.
It also draped from the ceiling.
The white of the paper reflected the color of the lights as the scenes,
moods, and time shifted. The sheets of
paper were representative of how many love letters were sent throughout the
play, and connected to the sentiment in the closing line of how sharing a story
reveals how you are through the writing.
Deirdre: The red paper on which one letter is written
in Act II is fabulous when it is torn to pieces. It is as if Valentine's
heart is bleeding from over sentimentality. When each piece hits the stage with great
lighting punctuating both the love that he is feeling and the hurt by his
inability to consummate his relationship by marrying Sylvia. Lighting, designed by Tim Cryan, is also used
as a way of changing the color of the crepe paper on the set.
Domenick: The second act had a lot more hutzpah than
the first. The action rose and the
energy excelled as the plot became full of intrigue. My favorite scene was in the forest in Act II
when Sylvia confronts Proteus and confesses her love for Valentine. Valentine forgives Proteus for acting like an
untrustworthy fool, and Julia reveals herself from behind her disguise. It all came together in a high point of
action and enthusiasm.
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| Photo courtesy of Fiasco Theater |
Deirdre: Although, this play is not my favorite and the story
lacks both the power and intrigue of Shakespeare's tragedies, the modernization
of this rendition helps one place himself into the lives of the characters who
are similar to youthful romantic couples of today. The set is minimalist; but the acting is
great. The whimsical nature of the play
makes the audience to both chuckle and smile and subsequently say, “Bravo.” Thus, in spite of a nearby audience member's
exclamation, “I had forgotten how dumb this play actually was,” I actually
enjoyed it for the comedy in which it was intended. Although not as stimulating as Hamlet
or Macbeth, it is no less worthy of great commendation for the direction
it was given by the creative team and for the talented cast that delivered a
great performance.
Domenick: I truly enjoyed The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
This was my first time experiencing a Fiasco Theatre production. They have a list of credits to their name
from the past few seasons including Into
the Woods at Roundabout Theatre. I
intend to make a point to see more of their work in the future. The level of quality is very high.
Deirdre: I saw the
Fiasco's production of Into the Woods
at the Roundabout Theater. The acting
was vigorous which brought the drama to great height. After seeing the production, I ordered the
music from the original production with Bernadette Peters because I wanted to
stay connected to Stephen Sondheim's music. Seeing that production was the impetus for
seeing the Fiasco's production of The Two
Gentlemen of Verona. I knew that
their rendition of this work would be excellent.
Domenick: I love the space at Theatre for a New
Audience. The classic theatre design
allows every seat to have a great view of the performance space, even the
higher up, less expensive seats. They
are producing great theatre in downtown Brooklyn at reasonable ticket
prices. Get there early, like I do, and
enjoy a snack in the lobby café before the performance.
Deirdre: I am looking
forward to The Public Theater's Performance of The Tempest and Cymbeline
(I've neither read nor seen Cymbeline) at the Delacorte Theater in Central
Park. I hope that they will be just as
ebullient with vivacity as The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Domenick: The Drilling Company is also producing The Two Gentlemen of Verona in
association with Bryant Park from May15 – 31 on the Upper Terrace. The performances are FREE, Fridays and
Saturdays at 6:30 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM.
Knowing the quality of the Drilling Company, this is sure to be a great
production as well.
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| Photo courtesy of Fiasco Theater |
Fiasco
Theater’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona
runs until May 25 at Theatre for a New Audience in Brooklyn (across the street
from BAM). Go to see it before it
closes. Add to the conversation Deirdre
and I started here by writing your comments about this or any other upcoming
Shakespeare productions in the city.
Domenick Danza
Deirdre M.
DeLoatch
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