Great Moments in New York Theater -- Two Gentlemen of Verona
I hate Shakespeare.
I love to say that to people – especially people in show business. Their faces just turn ashen and their jaws drop. It always gets ‘em right where I want to.
But it isn’t true.
It’s just something I say for fun… for shock value, you know? The truth is I quite like Shakespeare. I’m no expert. My husband is. My friend Jane is. I know a few people who just know their Shakespeare – it’s like air or water to them. Me, I need to work a little at it. Once I know a show, I am all set. Gimme Midsummer Night’s Dream or Romeo and Juliet… Twelfth Night or Henry V.. I can sit back and relax and enjoy those shows. Merchant of Venice. MacBeth. One or two others. If, though, it is a play I have never read or seen, I run the risk of being bored, of falling asleep, of getting lost, of being unhappy in my theater seat.
In my 17 years of living in New York I can remember almost every Shakespeare play that I have seen (almost). There was a Macbeth that we saw before moving here that starred Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson – they were thrilling, the production, not so much. Years later we saw a Macbeth with Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett – they were thrilling, the production, not so much. We saw Liev Schreiber play Hamlet and what I remember about that play was that he had very clean, very white feet. We saw Jude Law play Hamlet and what I remember is that he was stunning and so was the snow. There was Patrick Stewart in The Tempest – he was wonderful; there was Katy Selverstone in Much Ado About Nothing – she was WONDERFUL. I saw a lovely Merry Wives of Windsor with Andrea Martin and we saw a stunning Titus Andronicus with Michael Cumpsty. We saw Act one of Henry V in a garage theater waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down on the lower East side and we saw all of the off Broadway productions of Othello (I blogged about it) and R&J (as it was called).. We saw the RSC’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night – there will be blogging to come.
The Judith Shakespeare Company showed us a Richard II and Julius Cesar, both of which were very good.
And now they have given us Two Gentlemen of Verona.
I never saw Two Gentlemen of Verona. I never read Two Gentlemen of Verona. I did import the cast album from the musical Two Gentlemen of Verona into my Ipod. On the 12th song, I went to my computer and deleted all of it, asking myself “THAT won the best musical Tony instead of Follies?”. I might never have seen or known the play Two Gentlemen of Verona, were it not for the fact that my best friend is appearing in the Judith Shakespeare Company’s production that is currently playing. They opened the show two weeks ago but I only got around to seeing the play last night. Usually I like to not attend my friends’ opening nights – they tend to discourage it and I tend to like to give them (and the production) time to settle in. Now that they are in their third week, I took my Shakespeare loving husband to see my Shakespeare acting bestie… but I was, secretly, quite worried. Would I be able to follow it? Would I understand it? Would I stay awake? (This is an ongoing problem for me – I am exhausted and slightly narcoleptic and I do, I am sad to say, fall asleep at the theater, if the theater does not keep me alert and awake.) I was worried. This is my best friend. I wanted to be able to understand the play in which he is showing his artistry; I wanted to share in his work.
WELL.
Let. Me. Tell. You.
I STAYED AWAKE!!!! Not only that, I got the play! I was alert and awake and alive, laughing my ass off at this wonderful little comedy of errors! What a sweet and funny story but with also some really touching moments (one scene between Sylvia and Julia actually made me cry – but you didn’t read that hear) and truly poetic monologues. I was so impressed with the play and the ability of the artists, from director Joanne Zipay to all the actors, to make me understand what was happening, to make the play accessible. It’s like when you are at the opera or at a foreign film and you don’t understand the language but you can still follow the action. Except that the difference here is that these lovely actors made the Shakespearean language easier for me, they made the pentameter seem like prose. Of course, there are some actors who are better at it than others but that’s always going to be the case, isn’t it? There is, though, no actor in this show that does a bad job – they are all delightful and good.
Naturally, I was proudest of Hunter. It’s no easy thing he is doing. Maybe I didn’t tell you, maybe you didn’t know – The Judith Shakespeare Company switches the gender of the actors playing the parts. All the men are played by women and all the women are played by men. Confusing? Not at all. They drove and I went. This troupe of actors had me leaning forward in my seat (always a good sign) and laughing deep, loud belly laughs. It was a most enjoyable night in the theater, a great storyline (though one of the characters is truly icky, reprehensible, but I guess we need that in a character to make the story..), actors with a grasp of the language, a sexy-ass award winning guitarist underscoring the evening with some great music, a sweet concept (the prologue is a sheer delight) and a scene stealing would be Tony award winning dog.
And my best friend. I’m not biased. Truly. I go see my friends in plays and I know when it’s a good play, I know when they’re doing good work. I’ve seen Hunter act a few times now and I’m so proud to call him friend. I love artists. I love seeing the artist at work. I try to always support my family members who are artists, try to go see them in their shows, buy their books, go to their exhibits, buy their cookies, read their blogs, Itune their cds… These are my family and I wouldn’t feel good about myself if I didn’t support their work (I don’t understand friends of actors that don’t go see their acting friends in their shows – I know we can’t go EVERY time; but we should at least try). Hunter is actually one of my favourite actors. He has an honesty about him when he works (and I am all about the honesty) but it is delicately tempered with the craftsmanship that tells an actor where the laughs are, where the perfect moment comes to pause for a facial expression that will act as a confection for a rapt audience. When he works, he gets so far inside the character that the journey back is the performance we are all watching; when he enters the stage he is not himself and, like the seven veils, the layers loosen up as he fills the stage, finally letting them drop as he steps forward for his bow. He’s just magical; and I am not in the least biased – I know this because I have read his reviews for the shows he has done since I met him. I use them to back me up when I say these seemingly biased, actually unbiased comments.
Of course, Hunter is my favourite part of the play; but in truth my real favourite part of the play is that I GOT IT. I am so proud of myself and so proud of these artists. Together, we created a night that I would recommend to my friends, a night that I would (and do) call great.
I love to say that to people – especially people in show business. Their faces just turn ashen and their jaws drop. It always gets ‘em right where I want to.
But it isn’t true.
It’s just something I say for fun… for shock value, you know? The truth is I quite like Shakespeare. I’m no expert. My husband is. My friend Jane is. I know a few people who just know their Shakespeare – it’s like air or water to them. Me, I need to work a little at it. Once I know a show, I am all set. Gimme Midsummer Night’s Dream or Romeo and Juliet… Twelfth Night or Henry V.. I can sit back and relax and enjoy those shows. Merchant of Venice. MacBeth. One or two others. If, though, it is a play I have never read or seen, I run the risk of being bored, of falling asleep, of getting lost, of being unhappy in my theater seat.
In my 17 years of living in New York I can remember almost every Shakespeare play that I have seen (almost). There was a Macbeth that we saw before moving here that starred Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson – they were thrilling, the production, not so much. Years later we saw a Macbeth with Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett – they were thrilling, the production, not so much. We saw Liev Schreiber play Hamlet and what I remember about that play was that he had very clean, very white feet. We saw Jude Law play Hamlet and what I remember is that he was stunning and so was the snow. There was Patrick Stewart in The Tempest – he was wonderful; there was Katy Selverstone in Much Ado About Nothing – she was WONDERFUL. I saw a lovely Merry Wives of Windsor with Andrea Martin and we saw a stunning Titus Andronicus with Michael Cumpsty. We saw Act one of Henry V in a garage theater waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down on the lower East side and we saw all of the off Broadway productions of Othello (I blogged about it) and R&J (as it was called).. We saw the RSC’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth Night – there will be blogging to come.
The Judith Shakespeare Company showed us a Richard II and Julius Cesar, both of which were very good.
And now they have given us Two Gentlemen of Verona.
I never saw Two Gentlemen of Verona. I never read Two Gentlemen of Verona. I did import the cast album from the musical Two Gentlemen of Verona into my Ipod. On the 12th song, I went to my computer and deleted all of it, asking myself “THAT won the best musical Tony instead of Follies?”. I might never have seen or known the play Two Gentlemen of Verona, were it not for the fact that my best friend is appearing in the Judith Shakespeare Company’s production that is currently playing. They opened the show two weeks ago but I only got around to seeing the play last night. Usually I like to not attend my friends’ opening nights – they tend to discourage it and I tend to like to give them (and the production) time to settle in. Now that they are in their third week, I took my Shakespeare loving husband to see my Shakespeare acting bestie… but I was, secretly, quite worried. Would I be able to follow it? Would I understand it? Would I stay awake? (This is an ongoing problem for me – I am exhausted and slightly narcoleptic and I do, I am sad to say, fall asleep at the theater, if the theater does not keep me alert and awake.) I was worried. This is my best friend. I wanted to be able to understand the play in which he is showing his artistry; I wanted to share in his work.
WELL.
Let. Me. Tell. You.
I STAYED AWAKE!!!! Not only that, I got the play! I was alert and awake and alive, laughing my ass off at this wonderful little comedy of errors! What a sweet and funny story but with also some really touching moments (one scene between Sylvia and Julia actually made me cry – but you didn’t read that hear) and truly poetic monologues. I was so impressed with the play and the ability of the artists, from director Joanne Zipay to all the actors, to make me understand what was happening, to make the play accessible. It’s like when you are at the opera or at a foreign film and you don’t understand the language but you can still follow the action. Except that the difference here is that these lovely actors made the Shakespearean language easier for me, they made the pentameter seem like prose. Of course, there are some actors who are better at it than others but that’s always going to be the case, isn’t it? There is, though, no actor in this show that does a bad job – they are all delightful and good.
Naturally, I was proudest of Hunter. It’s no easy thing he is doing. Maybe I didn’t tell you, maybe you didn’t know – The Judith Shakespeare Company switches the gender of the actors playing the parts. All the men are played by women and all the women are played by men. Confusing? Not at all. They drove and I went. This troupe of actors had me leaning forward in my seat (always a good sign) and laughing deep, loud belly laughs. It was a most enjoyable night in the theater, a great storyline (though one of the characters is truly icky, reprehensible, but I guess we need that in a character to make the story..), actors with a grasp of the language, a sexy-ass award winning guitarist underscoring the evening with some great music, a sweet concept (the prologue is a sheer delight) and a scene stealing would be Tony award winning dog.
And my best friend. I’m not biased. Truly. I go see my friends in plays and I know when it’s a good play, I know when they’re doing good work. I’ve seen Hunter act a few times now and I’m so proud to call him friend. I love artists. I love seeing the artist at work. I try to always support my family members who are artists, try to go see them in their shows, buy their books, go to their exhibits, buy their cookies, read their blogs, Itune their cds… These are my family and I wouldn’t feel good about myself if I didn’t support their work (I don’t understand friends of actors that don’t go see their acting friends in their shows – I know we can’t go EVERY time; but we should at least try). Hunter is actually one of my favourite actors. He has an honesty about him when he works (and I am all about the honesty) but it is delicately tempered with the craftsmanship that tells an actor where the laughs are, where the perfect moment comes to pause for a facial expression that will act as a confection for a rapt audience. When he works, he gets so far inside the character that the journey back is the performance we are all watching; when he enters the stage he is not himself and, like the seven veils, the layers loosen up as he fills the stage, finally letting them drop as he steps forward for his bow. He’s just magical; and I am not in the least biased – I know this because I have read his reviews for the shows he has done since I met him. I use them to back me up when I say these seemingly biased, actually unbiased comments.
Of course, Hunter is my favourite part of the play; but in truth my real favourite part of the play is that I GOT IT. I am so proud of myself and so proud of these artists. Together, we created a night that I would recommend to my friends, a night that I would (and do) call great.
Great.
Two Gentlemen of Verona runs through August 22
Please note that I swiped the photo in this story off the internet. I did not take the photo and I wish I knew who did so I could credit them
posted by StephenMosher at 5:40 PM
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