Gentlemen loving, lying, carousing and running amuck, and looking damn good while doing it. That is the general happening of The Two Gentlemen of Verona which is performing through Saturday in Ball Theater.
It is a story of two best friends who must go off into the fast world of work, where they must learn to be gentlemen. Then they are caught up in this new environment where the two best friends must learn the ways of the business world. The plot thickens into a tangled mess when one of the gentlemen falls in love and then his best friend, who already has a love interest, also falls in love with the same girl.
The play is being directed for the first time in years by a visiting professor. The play has also been slightly modernized and adapted to bring the connections the audience can make into clearer perspective. Dr. Jim Cherry, visiting in the stead of Jim Fisher who is on sabbatical, has taken on the role of director with great fervor and excitement for the collaboration process.
“Contrary to the image of the beret-wearing maniac screaming into a megaphone, no director is an island,” Cherry said. “Collaboration, the process of bringing people together for a common task and arriving at answers together, is key.”
The production truly has been a work of collaboration between students and staff. Everything from solving technical problems to discussing music and cultural spice to add to the play was discussed between director, artists and collaborators.
Cherry, as a visiting professor, has been welcomed gladly into the new space, and even though he began unfamiliar with the theater, he gradually worked his way into it.
“Collaboration becomes particularly important when one is working in an unfamiliar space,” Cherry said. “It is not only useful, but essential, to rely on those people who know the ropes better than you do. Here at Wabash, I have felt fortunate that so many people, faculty, staff, and students alike, have wished to contribute and offer advice to a newcomer.”
The process of creating the play required more than merely setting actors on a stage and building the set around them with this production. Massive amounts of cultural influence and research has been included in the play from the hip costumes to the euro-trash music and flare given to the scenes. The modernization and adaptation of Shakespeare’s play proves that the issues are still relevant and meaning can be found for an all male college in Indiana.
It is a truly human tale that considers the weight of homosocial friendship versus heterosexual love. The bonds of gentlemen and best friends are held against the proposition of true love. Amongst the story come twists and turns, androgyny, music and the Shakespearean comedy requirement, a wedding.
The cast includes Dustin Foster, Spencer Elliott, Kathleen Zweiner, Nicole Cormaci, Matt Goodrich, Patrick McAlister, Nick Kraynak, Braden Pemberton, Caroline Stine, Sterling Carter, Bryce Chitwood, Tyler Williams, Jake Sauer, Nathan Rutz and Anthony Morton. Costumes were designed by Caroline Stine and lighting/set was designed by James Gross. Cody Grady worked as the stage manager with Anthony Morton as the assistant stage manager. Nelson Barre worked as the assistant director and dramaturg for the production.
The play is open and free to everyone. Tickets may be acquired at the Fine Arts
Center Box Office through email at boxoffice@wabash.edu or phone at 765-361-6411.