Transcribed from Fairbanks News-Miner
by Suzanna Caldwell
“The Two Gentlemen of Verona” isn’t your typical bit of Shakespeare.
First, it’s set in South America. Second, it’s a rock musical.
Using the score and script from the Tony award-winning musical, director Brandon Michael said it’s the “goofiest piece of musical theater I’d ever encountered.”
The musical, presented by the Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre in conjunction with the Fairbanks Light Opera Theater, starts Thursday and runs through Aug. 1 outdoors at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Jack Townshend Point.
While the musical stays close to the original plot of the Shakespearean play of the same name, it’s slightly paired down. Some characters from the original appear, but are nameless. But, in some ways, the added music expresses more than the play could.
Originally adapted by John Guare in 1971, the musical tells the tale of friends Proteus and Valentine, who leave their rural home of Verona for the big city of Milan. Proteus, who professes his love to Julia before leaving Verona, falls in love the moment he sees Silvia in Milan. Silvia, however, is in love with Valentine, but betrothed to another.
It’s complicated, but it’s also what creates the passion that permeates the play.
“It really expresses how fickle and beautiful young love is,” said Michael.
Robert Wighs, who plays Proteus, said the musical has done a good job in making sure the story is portrayed accurately.
“This person loves this person, loves this person — they all have different motives and intentions,” he said. “It’s hard making sure we hit all the right moments. The details of the love web are confusing if you rush.”
He said that the “rock star energy” that was hidden in the original play comes through in the musical numbers.
“That energy can be found in comedic moments. It helps push it farther,” he said of the music.
Wighs said his character can come off as a schmuck, if not portrayed properly. But he admires Proteus for his willingness to make “big, bold decisions.”
“His inconsistency is incredible,” Wighs said. “But it goes to show that love can hit and drop you. It’s a weird thing you can’t explain.”
The musical follows in the long-standing tradition of changing Shakespeare’s setting. For this production, Michael picked South America for its exotic and passionate culture. However, the text cannot be changed, because of copyright issues, so the characters will still say they are traveling from Verona to Milan. In the context of this performance, though, they travel from the Mexican countryside to Rio de Janeiro, Michael said.
Michael said the South American setting is colorful and festive and more like a summer rock concert than a Shakespearean play.
“It has this whacky, playful, youthful energy,” he said. “We’re taking it somewhere younger and hotter.”
The musical will be performed outdoors, rain or shine. While that may dampen the audience, Wighs said it won’t affect how the actors perform.
“Little moves might change a bit, things that aren’t safe (like lifting a dancer on a slippery stage,)” he said. “But not a whole lot will change.”
It’s a traditional way to stage Shakespeare’s work, even if the musical itself doesn’t tell the story in the most traditional way.
