Cole Porter did it. So did Rogers and Hart. And Giuseppe Verdi. Add playwright, James Saba to the short list. What is "it" they each did? Collaborate on the adaptation of a Shakespeare play, incorporating a musical score to modernize the product for post-Elizabethan audiences.
Adapted from the romantic comedy, Two Gentlemen of Verona, TWO ROCKIN' GENTS transforms the tongue-tripping drama of the Bard into a multi-faceted gem of contemporary entertainment. Interspersed with songs from the '50's and '60's, this show rocks!
I have to admit, the idea of adding bubblegum music to a classic by the most reverèd playwright of the English language sounded gimmicky at first. But this musical is so artfully constructed, with lyrics, melody and (carefully condensed) text cunningly interwoven, the result is stunning! We're buoyed up by the music, without being bogged down by the language. Yes, it's accessible even to viewers who would otherwise prefer two hours of a dentist's drill to a 2-hour drill in decoding a Shakespearean script.
Two Rockin' Gents is a tale of love and friendship, fidelity and betrayal, with a plot insubstantial as gossamer wings. The two titular gents, Valentine and Proteus, are buddies, teens surging with testosterone and lookin' for love. All's well until Proteus, enamored of a local girl named Julia, subsequently falls for Valentine's heartthrob, Sylvia. Add a few sassy servants, an onstage band, a loveable mutt and a pastel-sweater-vested male back-up trio, reminiscent of the girls' doo-wop threesome in Little Shop of Horrors and you have a formula for inspired madness. By intermission, I had to confess, "I'm All Shook Up."
Under the expert direction of Steven Woolf, and musical direction of Steven Gross, this student production radiates a professional glow. Overall, the actors and musicians are highly skilled, with outstanding performances delivered by Benjamin Mathes as Proteus, Cheryl Ann Sanders as Lucetta, Julia's servant (who doubles as a biker babe) and Benjamin Roseberry, versatile in multiple roles and equally talented as singer, actor and hoofer.
The impressive multi-level set and whimsical costumes were designed by talented students, Aloys Spack and Madeleine Broughton, respectively. (Until I studied the program at intermission, I assumed the designers were pros.) Much credit also goes to Steve Gunderson for original musical arrangements. What a tribute to collaborative art!
DHX Theatre Review - Two Rockin' Gents
Webster Conservatory of Theatre Arts
Reviewed by Sheila Schultz |
