THe two gentlemen of verona

A New Partnership

Great River Shakespeare Festival welcomes the graduate acting company of the Clarence Brown Theatre and the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) who will be in residence with us this summer. This cohort of young professional actors will understudy roles in The Comedy of Errors and Romeo and Juliet while studying with our company and professors from UTK. They will also create their own production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona for the festival.

The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Best friends Valentine and Proteus travel from Verona to Milan to become gentlemen. But the course of growing up never did run smooth. Amidst competitors, clowns, parents, and one unforgettable dog, these young friends—and the tenacious women they love—stumble through romance, betrayal, and reconciliation.

At turns silly and profound, Shakespeare’s first comedy asks timeless questions of youth: Who must I become to get what I want in life? Do I stay true to myself or shape myself to the world? Is what I want now what I will want tomorrow?

In this nimble 80-minute adaptation, just six actors bring to life Shakespeare’s rollicking comedy about the chaos of becoming yourself. Filled with physical hijinks, clever wordplay, and some of Shakespeare’s most accessible poetry, this production celebrates the spectacular upheaval of falling in love and the exhilarating turbulence of coming of age.

Directed by Katie Lupica