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Arts & Entertainment

'Two Gentlemen of Verona' Full Of Laughs And Fun

New Line Theatre's production now showing in Clayton turns a rough diamond into a sparkling gem.

It's not the greatest musical ever written—far from it. The script is weak and full of holes. The music—less than memorable. To call the lyrics silly is to be kind. Some of the performers sang out of their range, and the sound system harshly amplified every scratchy note. And it was the most fun I've had at the theater in a long time.

New Line Theatre presented a rollicking production of Two Gentlemen of Verona on Friday night, romping across the stage to a Latin beat. The audience was happy to join the conga line. The cast had spirit and enthusiasm. It just had a good old time, and that energy and joy was served up buffet-style—a little of this, a little of that—until our plates were heaped with tasty morsels. The audience ate it up.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, widely considered one of Shakespeare's worst plays, benefits just a little from the updating, despite pedigreed contributions such as music by Galt MacDermot (Hair), lyrics by John Guare (House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation) and script by Mel Shapiro and Shakespeare. New Line artistic director Scott Miller stuck his finger in the pie as well, to great effect.

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The play involves Proteus (Zachary Allen Farmer) and Valentine (Eeyan Richardson), two friends who travel from the sleepy town of Verona to the bustling big city of Milan. There, they fall in love with the same woman, Sylvia (Taylor Pietz). Proteus has left his true love, Julia (Jeanitta Perkins), behind. Women are not allowed to travel, so Julia and her maid, Lucetta (Terrie Carolan), dress up as two gentlemen and follow Proteus to Milan. Milan is ruled by Julia's father, the Duke (Tom Conway) and his smarmy, obsequious sidekick who also happens to be Julia's betrothed, Thurio (Aaron Allen.)

Farmer as fickle Proteus is excellent and possesses perhaps the best voice in the show, sweet and clean. But he can get down, too, as he does in What Does a Lover Pack. Valentine, portrayed by Eeyan Richardson, is soulful and charming, and his doo-wop reprise of Love's Revenge is a highlight with background vocals by Proteus and the two manservants, Launce (Joel Hackbarth) and Speed (Mike Dowdy). Hackbarth and Dowdy get their share of laughs, too, especially as the two cupid-like purveyors of love who scatter rose petals to cast their spells.

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Perkins shines as Julia. Her rendition of What A Nice Idea will have you laughing one moment and enveloped in a blanket of melancholy the next. Likewise, Carolan as Lucetta is simply wonderful. When she sings Betrayal in male disguise, she owns the stage, the audience, the theater and the parking spaces, too.

Sylvia, played by Taylor Pietz, is lovely. When she sings To Whom It May Concern, she languidly drapes herself across a table and shows why the boys keep falling in love with her. Her father, the Duke of Milan (Tom Conway), lampoons politics and war with his rousing number Bring All the Boys Back Home. The song was originally written as a statement on the Vietnam War, but it is just as applicable today. Conway doesn't sing the song so well vocally, but it doesn't matter: he acts the song with style, and I'll take that any day. Later in the show, he brought the house down in the duet Thurio's Samba.

Allen, as Thurio, takes a small part and turns it into a starring role. His character's sliminess oozes out and covers the stage, and he squirms in it like the snake he is—a very funny snake who can produce a laugh with nothing but delivery and physicality. The remainder of the cast is filled out nicely by Michael Jones as Eglamore, Kimi Short as the Milkmaid and an ensemble that gives the play its texture and style.

As with any show, blame or kudos stop with the director. Scott Miller has directed Two Gentlemen of Verona with a sure, confident hand. He doesn't run from the show's inherent weaknesses but rather embraces them—emphasizes them, even—giving the entire production one giant tongue in cheek. The show seductively winks at us, and we love it.

Choreographer Robin Michelle Berger has had fun as well. We really do want to join in, and I half expected her to stick the Macarena in there just for laughs. Costumes from Thom Crain are appropriately right out of the barrio, and Christopher Waller does a fine job with lights, noticeable only in the forest scenes as sunlight filters through the trees. Todd Shaefer's set is simple but effective, serving the play without too much ado.

Nothing about this musical should work, but it does. Think of it as Shakespeare wrapped in Hair stuffed inside Godspell. It's kind of like the turducken of American musical theater—horrid sounding, but man, is it tasty.

New Line Theatre pushes the proverbial envelope to dimensions other theatres simply do not. If you want to see a show and feel like you're in New York or Chicago, go see a show at New Line. Go see Two Gentlemen of Verona. It'll be the most fun you have at the theater this year.

WHAT New Line Theatre's Two Gentlemen of Verona WHEN 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, March 3-26 WHERE Washington University South Campus Theatre, 6501 Clayton Rd. in Clayton
TICKETS Call 314-773-6526 or go to the theater's Web site for more information.
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