Most scholars conclude that Shakespeare's first comedy was Two Gentlemen of Verona and it will be read by Shakespeare Chattanooga on July 30.
“Two Gents, to be frank, is certainly not Shakespeare at his best,” said director Janis Hashe. “The characters are kind of dorky. But it’s fascinating as the prototype for many themes he goes on to explore. You can recognize elements that turn up in the Merchant of Venice, the Taming of the Shrew, even All’s Well That Ends Well. Also, it’s his first use of the girl-dresses-as-boy convention, which of course he uses extensively, since his girls were really played by boys.”
The play is best known for the set pieces involving the clown servant, Launce, and his extremely bad dog, Crab. “It’s believed that the famous Elizabethan comic actor, Will Kemp, played Launce, using a performing dog as Crab. In our reading, Crab will be played by an actor,” said Ms. Hashe. “But he still has no lines.”
The cast for the reading includes Michael Ake, Joanna Lewis, Jacob Moore, Susan Pyle, Bob Roza, Michael Rudez, Naomi Self, Stephanie Smith, Jake Van Valkenberg and Kelli Warren. The reading will be performed at the Highland Center.
The Highland Center, now the permanent home of Shakespeare Chattanooga, is located in the former 21st Century Academy magnet school; prior to that, the building was Brainerd Junior High. It is now privately owned and more and more community programming is being made possible there.
The Reading of Two Gentlemen of Verona will be held on Thursday, July 30, at 7:30 p.m. at the Highland Center, 104 N. Tuxedo Ave. There is a $5 suggested donation.
For more information, contact Ms. Hashe at 622-2862 or jhashe@epbif.com.