Genesius Guild's “Two Gentlemen of Verona" at Lincoln Park -- June 10 through 18.
Saturday, June 10, through Sunday, June 18, 8 p.m.
Lincoln Park, 1120 40th Street, Rock Island IL
A funny and witty exploration into themes of friendship and infidelity, the conflict between friendship and romance, and the foolish behavior of people in love, Two Gentlemen of Verona kicks off Genesius Guild's 2023 summer with a June 10 through 18 run, William Shakespeare's classic comedy in Rock Island's Lincoln Park continuing Guild's recent trend of season-openers boasting almost exclusively student talents.
In Two Gentlemen of Verona, Valentine, a young man from the titular Italian city, sets off from Verona for Milan to see the world. His closest friend Proteus, however, stays at home because of his love for Julia. The young woman is in love with Proteus, as well, but neither knows of the other's romantic interest until Julia's waiting woman Lucetta shows Julia a love letter from Proteus. He is eventually found reading her reply when his father, Antonio, sends Proteus to the Duke's court to join Valentine. It's in Milan that Proteus discovers that Valentine has fallen in love with Silvia, the Duke's daughter, and plans to elope with her to foil her father's plan to marry her to Turio. Valentine confides his plan to his friend, but Proteus, infatuated with Silvia at first sight, betrays the plan to the duke and Valentine is banished from Milan. Meanwhile, Julia, disguised as Sebastian, arrives in Milan in search of Proteus, and overhearing him declare his passion for Silvia, she is devastated. Under the cover of her disguise, though, she enters his service as a page, resulting in one of Shakespeare's most delightful plays - and one of the Bard's most intimate, as Two Gentlemen of Verona boasts the smallest named cast of any of his stage works.
Directing Two Gentlemen of Verona is veteran Genesius Guild talent Angela Rathman, who has appeared in such productions as A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shew, and Macbeth, as well as productions of Shakespeare's King John and All's Well That Ends Well for the area's verse-theatre troupe the Prenzie Players. Members of Rathman's creative team include producer (and Guild executive director) Isabel Dawson, assistant director Kitty Israel, and stage manager Liz Sager, while the Two Gentlemen of Verona cast is composed of 11 gifted young performers: Olivia Akers; Kate Almquist; Josef Bodenbender; Geno DelPreore; Tatyana DelPreore; Lillian Estes; Tristen Grey; Erica Heiselman; Chip Simmons; Gabe Thompson; and Wiz Wooley. With the cast featuring outstanding talent from high schools across the Quad Cities. Isabel Dawson, Genesius Guild's executive director, said, "This is a great opportunity to connect the community's youth to classical theatre, while mentoring and teaching skills they will use throughout their lives. Watching their growth has been inspiring." This high school outreach is made possible by a grant from the Hubbell-Waterman Foundation.
Genesius Guild's Two Gentlemen of Verona will be presented on the Don Wooten Stage in Rock Island's Lincoln Park June 10 through 18, with performances on Saturdays and Sundays at 7 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are encouraged and appreciated, and more information is available by visiting Genesius.org.
