If you thought last Fall's "The Rocky Horror Show" was crazy, get ready for this term's Mainstage production. William Shakespeare's "Two Gentlemen of Verona" will not only include lots of singing and dancing, but also a rock band, a projector and, last but not least, a live dog. Other surprises involving the audience will be a part of the performance as well.
Set in Verona and Milan, "Two Gentleman of Verona" is a story of young love and friendship. Proteus and Valentine are best friends who go through a maze of mixed-up love. As with many of Shakespeare's shows, unrequited love, girls disguised as boys and love triangles are prevalent throughout the show.
Director and theater department chair Peter Hackett has turned this roller coaster of a play into an even wackier ride, setting the show at Dartmouth instead of Verona and making Milan the destination of a Foreign Study Program. Hackett said his idea for contemporizing the play was a function of the play's flexibility of characters and setting.
"There's a real sense of energy in this play, and almost like an improvisatory sense where he's not concerned with geography, he sort of mixes characters' names," Hackett said in an interview with The Dartmouth. "There's a lack of attention to detail in some of it that actually I think is quite interesting, so we decided to approach the play in that spirit."
The spirit of improvisation that Hackett describes is also evident in the show's use of a live dog, Mystic, and a local rock band, Loco Parentis, led by theater professor Carol Dunne. These unconventional elements not only add to the contemporary understanding of the play, but they also create a very unique production, according to students acting in the performance.
"What I was impressed with when I saw Shakespeare in London was how the director was able to insert various elements that were not part of the script at all," Neil Basu '11 said. "And Peter Hackett, I feel, has done something similar with this production by inserting numerous elements that I would not have thought of for a performance of Shakespeare."
The songs played by Loco Parentis are contemporary pop songs such as The Cars' "My Best Friend's Girl" that are inserted where the lyrics match the text of the scenes. Such songs supplement some of the scenes, and replace others, according to Stephen Jangro '11, who is acting in the performance.
"What's fun about it is they've played together a lot and they've played gigs, but they've never played as part of a performance," Hackett said. "So they're loving seeing how the show's being put together and I know the students are loving doing the songs and the directing with these guys."
Mystic, who plays the role of Crab the dog, gets along with the cast well, according to Hackett. His scenes with the clown, Launce, played by Jangro, because there will be a real canine will enhance the improvisatory element of the play, Jangro said. Mystic, who is not trained for theater but was considered for the part at an early production meeting. Jangro said he has been working closely with Mystic during and outside of rehearsals, adding that the energetic dog makes acting in the show an even more exciting experience.
"We were careful because she isn't trained she's not a show dog," Hackett said. "We wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be freaked out by the lights and the costumes and the loud noises or anything, and so far she's been doing really well."
At the end of the play the cast will invite the audience to join them on stage. Audience participation is something Hackett said he wants to take advantage of, as the relationship between audience and cast in Shakespeare's plays is so important.
The show opens this Friday at 8 p.m. in the Moore Theater. It will also features guest lighting designer Richard Winkler, a Tony Award-winning musical producer who currently has five shows on Broadway.
