Shakespeare’s ‘Two Gentlemen’ woo in the 1950s at SCR

Tom Titus

To fully appreciate a Shakespearean comedy, one must buy into two

assumptions -- that treachery among allies, no matter how guileful,

may ultimately be forgiven, and that a young woman may render herself

unrecognizable to her beloved simply by altering her hairstyle.

Accept these premises, and you should enjoy “Two Gentlemen of

Verona,” South Coast Repertory’s latest production, in which the

“Verona” of the title is situated somewhere in middle America of the

1950s. That’s established at the outset, as the actors perform

against the backdrop of a gigantic billboard advertising milk “from

Verona cows.”

“Two Gentlemen” may not be among Shakespeare’s greatest hits, but

under the creative direction of Mark Rucker -- who revisualized “The

Taming of the Shrew” and “Much Ado About Nothing” for SCR audiences

-- it’s a rich chunk of eye candy. Energy and imagination may paper

over innumerable structural flaws, and these elements are present at

SCR in abundance.

Of the gentlemen in the title, only one actually fits that

description -- the other is a cad who turns his back on his own

sweetheart to secure the heart of his buddy’s. This is no easy task,

since her nobleman father prefers a third suitor and carries a lot of

weight in the swinging metropolis of Milan.

Scott Soren excels as the ungentlemanly gent, Proteus, whose bonds

with best pal Valentine (Gregory Crane) dissolve when he spies

Valentine’s sweetie Silvia (Nealy Glenn). Nevermind that his own

hometown squeeze (Jennifer Elise Cox) is something of a fox in her

own right.

Rather than dump the rascal, as most ladies in the ‘50s -- or,

probably, Shakespeare’s time as well -- would do, Cox dutifully takes

matters into her own hands by posing as a man (the hairdo change) and

discovering Proteus’ duplicity for herself. But not until after the

plot takes several circuitous turns, including the appearance of a

Hell’s Angels type of desert outlaw band that enlivens the

proceedings immeasurably.

There are, of course, the numskull servants -- Daniel T. Parker

and Travis Vaden -- whose contributions could well be trimmed in the

interest of brevity (it being the soul of wit). Parker plays an

overweight, enthusiastic dullard while Vaden brings along his docile

dog to back up his Gomer Pyle-esque performance.

One of the strongest figures onstage is Preston Maybank as the

duke of Milan, Silvia’s overprotective daddy. For reasons of his own,

he prefers the ungainly Thurio (Guilford Adams) as a future

son-in-law. Adams joins Matt Demerritt and Phillip C. Vaden as

strolling musicians who back up a few numbers in which Shakespearean

dialogue becomes lyrical.

Most of SCR’s founding artists have a field day as the desert

outlaws -- Don Took, John-David Keller, Martha McFarland and Hal

Landon Jr. join Maybank and Rachel Dara Wolfe in the grungy troupe

that recruits the banished Valentine as their new leader.

Scenic designer Darcy Scanlin has created two strikingly

dissimilar locations in the provincial Verona and the swinging Milan.

Joyce Kim Lee offers some provocative costumes, especially among the

desert outlaws, while Geoff Korf’s lighting and Aram Arslanian’s

sound design complete the rousing background effects.

“Two Gentlemen of Verona,” being one of Shakespeare’s early

comedies, lacks the wit and polish of his later works, but Rucker’s

production guarantees a full evening’s entertainment.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His

reviews appear Thursdays and Saturdays.